Cuttack, Aug. 28: Police have arrested former skipper of the Odisha Ranji squad Haladhar Das on charges of rash and negligent driving causing injury to one person near the Barabati Stadium.
Das, whom the cops rescued from a mob and detained at Cantonment police station, was released today with a notice to appear after seven days.
"On receiving a written complaint, we have registered a case against him under the IPC's sections 279 (rash driving on public way), 337 (causing hurt by endangering life of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by endangering personal safety of others)," Cantonment police station inspector-in-charge Biswajit Mohanty said today.
The 35-year-old cricketer was behind the wheels of his blue Maruti Swift car when he nudged a motorcycle, injuring the rider, identified as Srikrushna Jena. On conviction for the charges, imprisonment may extend up to six months and two years, along with fine of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.
Das, who was in the Odisha squad in last Ranji season, was rescued by a mobile police party of Bidanasi police station in an "inebriated state" from an irate crowd at Chahata around 5pm yesterday.
The mob chased him on motorbikes after he had hit Jena. They had stopped his car and manhandled after dragging him out of his car. The car was stoned and damaged.
Bidanasi police station inspector-in-charge Pradeep Kumar Rout said: "As we did not receive any complaints, there was no case against him. We handed him over to Cantonment police after a complaint was received there."
Jena, a resident of Balikuda in Jagatsinghpur district, lodged the complaint late in the night after getting his first-aid medication.
"We received the complaint and then arrested Das around 11.30pm last night," said Mohanty.
Das was not reachable for comments. Reports said he had allegedly nudged six persons at four places while driving his car from Mangalabag to the stadium. After hitting the complainant, Das took the ring road. But, a group of people chased him and caught on to him at Chahata.
Das has represented Odisha in Ranji Trophy matches as a wicket-keeper batsman. He was also a member of Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.
He hit the headlines for wrong reasons when the Odisha Cricket Association axed him for the 2011 Ranji season.
The association had acted against him after Das was not available at the dinner table on the eve of a match. It was later learnt that he had left the hotel without the team manager's permission only to return around 9.45pm.
A fortnight later, the state cricket body lifted the ban after Das had begged an apology before the association's disciplinary committee and assured them of not repeating the mistake.
