Hemanta Kumar Kalita, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) secretary general, and Digvijay Singh, treasurer of the sporting body, were on Tuesday suspended with immediate effect after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) filed a complaint against the duo with BFI president Ajay Singh for alleged financial irregularities and mismanagement of funds.
Kalita’s nomination for the presidential post in the upcoming election was also rejected due to the mandatory cooling-off period required after serving two consecutive four-year terms as an office bearer.
In a letter addressed to the duo, Ajay said he had appointed Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) Sudhir Kumar Jain, former judge of the Delhi High Court, to conduct an independent investigation into the matter.
READ: Los Angeles Olympic 2028: IOC Board approves boxing for inclusion in Games
”Justice Jain has concluded his investigation and submitted his report, which has found both of you guilty of serious charges of financial irregularities and mismanagement of funds. The findings of the report establish a clear breach of fiduciary duties and responsibilities expected from individuals holding key positions within the Federation,” the letter read.
While suspending the two office-bearers from their positions, Singh restrained them from performing any duties.
Meanwhile, BFI returning officer Justice (retd.) R.K. Gauba, while accepting Singh’s electoral college, published the nominations after scrutiny, listing Singh, Rajesh Bhandari and D. Chandralal in the race for presidency.
Incidentally, two days ago, Ajay and Hemanta had clashed over Women’s National Boxing Championship dates. A few hours after the federation secretary issued a notification stating that the tournament had been rescheduled, Ajay asserted that the upcoming Nationals will proceed as scheduled.
