Amit Mishra in the field during India’s first match of their 2011 tour of England at the County Ground, Taunton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The best leg-spinner in the country, Amit Mishra, is embroiled in a sordid scandal.
A woman friend has filed and withdrawn a police complaint against the cricketer for allegedly assaulting her in his hotel room during the preparatory camp in Bengaluru last month.
Mishra had been summoned by the local authorities.
The leggie was originally booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 328 (causing hurt with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code.
The complainant is 34-year old Bengaluru resident Vandana Jain. She is a Bollywood producer and co-owner of Celebrity Cricket League’s Bengal Tigers team along with Boney Kapoor.
Jain accused Mishra of attacking her with a kettle and behaving immodestly with her.
Mishra and Jain were good friends over the past three years. The diminutive sportsman was a frequent visitor at her residence on Rest House, Crescent Road.
The lady confronted Mishra for avoiding her by inveigling herself into his hotel room without his permission.
According to the Bangalore Mirror, Jain’s written complaint at the Ashok Nagar station states:
“I learnt that he is in town for training prior to South Africa tour. On September 25 evening, I went to Ritz Carlton hotel room and began to talk to him. He began to give me evasive replies and shouted at me. He tried to outrage my modesty. Even few hotel staff have seen this and CCTV footage must confirm this. Please take action against him for assaulting me.
Once he entered the room, he started fighting and asked me how I got into the room without his permission. He started hitting me with his hands and threw a kettle at my face. He started choking me hard and I suffocated. I screamed. I was frightened as I almost stopped breathing. He twisted my right wrist and fractured my right ring finger.”
A copy of the complaint was made available to the BCCI.
A senior police office said:
“We have sent a notice to him (Amit Mishra) and are waiting for his reply. Also, we have asked him to appear before the jurisdictional police at the earliest and also to co-operate with them in the investigation process.
We are collecting the information from the staff at the hotel on Residency Road, where the incident took place. It seems like the victim is known to Mishra and has visited him a couple of times. To get an exact picture we will question Mishra and the victim and then carry on with the case.”
Another police officer added:
“She told the staff in the reception lobby that Mishra was expecting her. Once upstairs, she told the housekeeping staff that she had lost her key and needed to use the washroom urgently. She looked confident and her posh dressing and mannerisms convinced the housekeeping staff.
There’s no doubt that the two knew each other very well. The woman has told us that they were in a relationship. She was forced to take the step of sneaking into his room as he was trying to avoid her. These things are common among couples and her entering the room cannot be construed as trespassing in the strict sense.
She was a familiar presence in the hotel. So the version of the hotel staff also can’t be taken on face value.”
Mishra is an integral part of Team India’s scheme of things for the on-going series against South Africa at home.
The trundler is considered unfortunate to have played just 15 Tests for the country since his debut in 2008.
In a turn of events, Vandana Jain has decided to withdraw her case.
Speaking to PTI, she said:
“Two days after lodging the complaint, I approached the police station and told them that I have in principle decided to withdraw the case,” the complainant told PTI here. I am waiting for Mishra to appear in the police station. We both will amicably withdraw the case. We were friends. We fought, and continue to remain friends here after.”
Jain insists that she has not been pressurized in any way.
She added:
“There was no pressure from any quarters, including the BCCI. I am surprised how the media picked up the case, which I have decided to withdraw.”
Update:
Jain has since recanted saying that she will not withdraw her complaint against Mishra.
Speaking to the Hindu, she said:
“I won’t withdraw the complaint against Amit (Mishra). I am hurt physically, mentally and emotionally by the cricketer. He knew I was going to the police and kept saying he will come to Bengaluru and sort out the matter. I want Amit to come in front of the police and talk to me.”
She added:
“My hand was in a cast, which I removed recently. I was forced to go to the police following the abuse and insult Amit subjected me to.”
Jain trusts that the law will take its course.
“Court and police will decide. I trust police, I trust law, so let them decide. I thought of withdrawing the case but then I realized if he is not worried about it then why I should. Let him take his step, let me take my step. I didn’t want to ruin his life, I don’t want to ruin his career but the things went wrong without my intentions.”
Second update:
Mishra was arrested on the 27th of October in the morning and then released on bail by the Ashok Nagar police.
The ace legspinner spent three hours at the Cubbon Park police station.
Sandeep Patil, DCP Central said:
“Enquiry with regard to the assault complaint was done. Mishra was questioned for 3 hours from 11am following which he was arrested and released on bail as it is a bailable offence.”
The Twitteratti reacted swiftly to the latest debacle.
Here are some choice tweets:
Amit Mishra has been granted bail. Probe will continue. If allegation proved false, will the woman be send to jail?
@ianuragthakur
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Barkha Trehan (@trehan_barkha) October 27, 2015Amit Mishra just crossed the threshold required to win a BJP ticket.
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Suryanarayan Ganesh (@gsurya) October 27, 2015Amit Mishra arrested for assaulting a woman and released on bail because, luckily, no cow was harmed during the assault.
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lindsay pereira (@lindsaypereira) October 27, 2015Amit Mishra arrested, but better spinner found 🙂 twitter.com/jnsbmi/status/…
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Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) October 27, 2015Amit Mishra arrested. TV channels show his bowling clippings. What happens if Sunny Leone gets arrested?
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Just slave it. (@lankyiyer) October 27, 2015Girl was girlfriend of Amit Mishra for 3 years n Amit doesn't want to continue so she filed FIR against him. This law is totally harassment.
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Kamaal R Khan-KRK (@kamaalrkhan) October 21, 2015Even Amit Mishra Has Started Assaulting Women? No Woman Is Safe In Modi's India.
#TweetLikeRajdeep
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Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) October 20, 2015
Make Time For Sports. 
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