Kolkata, June 17: The officials of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) have addressed state minister for youth services and sports, Indranil Khan, in a letter reaffirming the organization’s commitment to systemic integrity, a robust grievance redressal mechanism, and a judicial system of checks and balances.
This formal communication comes in response to an open letter posted by former CAB president Abhishek Dalmiya on his Facebook page, which raised concerns about alleged corruption, systemic failures, and the fairness of the selection process within the organization.
The current management committee, led by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, defended the allegations, stating that the CAB has mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the BCCI’s constitution regarding ethics and conduct. This system is enforced through an ombudsman and an ethics officer, both of whom are typically retired chief justices of a high court.
The letter noted, “Under this framework, Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, has served as the ombudsman and ethics officer for the past two years.”
CAB officials emphasized that all complaints brought before the platform are addressed with the utmost legal fairness, transparency, and integrity, with no interference from current officials.
The letter also mentioned that this system has been in place since 2019 and highlighted key figures who have led the CAB over the past 30 years.
In their communication, CAB officials invited the sports minister to visit the association and meet with its 140 members to investigate the facts firsthand.
Furthermore, the letter stated, “Given that this supreme integrity mechanism is led by a retired chief justice, raising issues publicly through open letters suggests that the intent is more about publicity than resolving genuine complaints.”
The CAB urged the state sports ministry to seriously investigate why the complainant ignored the established internal platform.
The letter concluded by asserting that the current administration is focused on clean governance and major infrastructure projects in the state. It also assured that if any solid evidence-based complaint reaches the ombudsman, appropriate legal action will be taken.
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