I got death threats from BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary: Santosh Rangnekar

MUMBAI: Santosh Rangnekar, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the BCCI, on Wednesday, submitted a written statement in the Supreme Court of India briefly narrating three separate incidents this year - first on January 6 & twice on October 6 - when he received 'threats' from Anirudh Chaudhary.

Rangnekar has submitted that on January 21, Chaudhary called him inside the conference room on the first floor of BCCI headquarters in Mumbai at around 11 am, asked him to switch off his cell phone, checked whether there was any camera in the conference room and said (statement in verbatim): "A FIR will be filed on CEO and CFO for misappropriation of funds because (we) used UBI account (Union Bank of India) to run BCCI's operations for the period (from) Jan 2-20, 2017. Then further said that this FIR will be finally turned as fake / untrue or court will reject the same but till that time for next 2 years at least our life (professional and personal) will be totally finished. On that I just said that CEO and CFO (myself) have acted on the basis of written instructions from SC/ Lodha / Amicus Curie. HT (Hon treasurer) said if I would have been in Haryana, by now I would have been evaporated (death threat)".

On October 6, Rangnekar further accuses Chaudhary of receiving two more separate threats.


At around 1.30pm at a coffee shop at ITC Maurya, New Delhi, "HT said that I should take potassium cyanide instead of solvine (a tablet for throat infection). HT made this comment with a smile (death threat)".

An hour later, in the lobby of the same hotel, "HT said he will finish me soon. Ab mera time aa gaya hai. Do one mistake and kahlass karunga tumko. Bachke rahana (death and job threat)".

Chaudhary and his legal team told TOI they will file the strongest of replies to these bizarre allegations made by Rangnekar. "I was shocked to hear the false, frivolous and baseless allegations that were made against me today. While I vehemently deny them, I also condemn the innuendo that was sought to be made on my ancestry. It saddens me that it has come to a situation where the peddling of lies before the Hon'ble Supreme Court can be even considered by someone, leave alone executed," Chaudhary said.

"As per information made available to me, the email that was produced before the Hon'ble Supreme Court was dated 11th of October, 2017 and it was given to the Ld. Amicus only about 10 minutes before (today's) hearing. It was surprising and shocking that the contents of the email or the false allegations contained therein, were never ever put to me by anyone till the point they were mentioned in the Hon'ble Court and I had not even been called upon to respond to the same," Chaudhary added.

Chaudhary says he's shocked that the CoA saw it prudent to believe Rangnekar's version but did not even once have the courtesy to confront him with the same.

Rangnekar is learnt to have written an e-mail to BCCI's Committee of Administrators and CEO Rahul Johri on October 11, when he first made these allegations. "There was a court hearing on October 30. There's been a meeting between the treasurer and the CoA after that. Nobody confronted the treasurer with any of this and today, out of the blue, a letter is submitted to the Amicus? Why was it brought up in court today? Is the Amicus supposed to be the court's friend or representing only one side?" the Chaudhary camp fumed.