Mohali: The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Wednesday received a fresh jolt with the state’s sports department moving to freeze its accounts and transferring its future earnings to government accounts.

The sports department, through its managing body Punjab State Sports Council, moved an application in the court of sub-divisional magistrate here apprehending that the “PCA may divert the funds of the government” and hence its accounts be frozen immediately.

[Efforts to get in touch with PCA president I.S. Bindra proved futile till late in the evening.]

The sports department had on October 31 filed a Rs 200- crore suit initiating legal proceedings under the Punjab Public Premises and Land (eviction and rent recovery) Act 1973, against the PCA to seek possession of 15.35 acres of land that belongs to it and on which the PCA stadium has come up.

The PCA had been given time till Wednesday to file a reply. After appearing in the court, the counsel for sports department told reporters that the court had fixed November 23 as the next date of hearing.

The PCA also filed its reply in the court and submitted that the department’s application seeking possession of the land was not maintainable as a proper lease deed had been filed between the two bodies.

The suit filed by the sports department had claimed that Bindra had allegedly misused his official position in the government as IAS officer in 1992 to get the lease agreement. (PTI)