A court in Andhra Pradesh Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Indian cricket team captain M.S. Dhoni for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.
A local court in Anantapur issued the arrest warrant as Dhoni did not appear in the court despite three summons served in the past. It directed police to present Dhoni in the court July 16.
The case relates to a picture on the cover of a magazine.
Business Today in its April 2013 edition had carried the picture. Dhoni was portrayed as Hindu god Vishnu with a sub title "God of Big Deals" and holding products of several companies including a shoe in his hand.
Y. Shyam Sunder, a local leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had filed a petition in the court in February this year alleging that the cricketer hurt the sentiments of Hindus by denigrating a Hindu god.
The summons issued by the court to Dhoni on three occasions were returned. The court, which took up the hearing Tuesday, issued the arrest warrant.
Similar petitions against Dhoni were filed in Delhi, Pune and other cities.
India’s Virat Kohli has reclaimed the No.1 position in the latest ICC rankings for One-Day International (ODI) batsmen released Sunday at the conclusion of the Asia Cup which was won by Sri Lanka.
Lahiru Thirimanne's well-constructed century guided Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup title Saturday, drubbing defending champions Pakistan by five wickets in the final at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Saturday.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal exited the $400,000 All England Open Badminton Championships when she lost her women's singles quarter-final match against China's Shixian Wang
Winter Paralympics 2014 kicked off in Sochi, Russia, today in the backdrop of the country's recent military action in Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin, opened the event featuring 547 athletes from 45 countries in a lavish ceremony.
After 15 years of international cricket, Harbhajan Singh is still enjoying playing in domestic cricket. The 33-year-old rates himself the best off-spinner in the country and says it is a matter of time before he is recalled to the national side
India's Saina Nehwal had to go the full distance of three games to overcome American qualifier Beiwen Zhang 24-22, 18-21, 21-19, and enter the quarter-finals of the women's singles at the All-England badminton championships.