Srinagar:
There's been a controversy ever since a young Muslim cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir was arrested in Bangalore on Saturday on charges of carrying explosives.
After protests alleging he is being targeted because he's a Muslim from Kashmir, Pervez was later let off for lack of evidence. Now in a new twist to the tale, the chief of the J&K Cricket Association and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah has blamed players unhappy at being left out of the team.
Pervez Rasool's family is still in shock even after his release. The young cricketer's father, Ghulam Rasool, is a driver with the government. A day ago, the Bangalore police arrested him suspecting that he had explosives in his kit bag.
"I spoke to him, he told them that there is nothing," said Ghulam Rasool.
But now, Farooq Abdullah has given the whole issue a fresh spin, that insiders were up to mischief.
"We are suspecting ourselves, some people from Jammu and Kashmir who were either not selected or could not get their way have made phone calls. They have done these things and are responsible for it. I can't totally blame the Karnataka government for this, we should look at ourselves also," said Abdullah.
But Pervez's family refuses to believe any foul play.
"I don't think it is enmity. I think it was just a misunderstanding," said Ghulam Rasool.
And despite their chief's suspicion of mischief, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association is taking up the issue with the BCCI. They also want an apology from the Karnataka Cricket Association and police as well.
Though this is the first such major reported incident, but there have been many incidents in the past where Kashmiri cricketers were harassed.