IPL veteran Naman Ojha's father sentenced seven years of jail in embezzlement case

IPL veteran Naman Ojha's father sentenced seven years of jail in embezzlement case (AFP/File Photo)

Former India cricketer Naman Ojha's father, Vinay Ojha, has been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment after being found guilty in embezzlement case. Vinay was reportedly among the four involved in the embezzlement matter at the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, which took place eleven years ago. It is reported that the four embezzled Rs 1.25 crore from the bank.

As per news reports, police had filed a case against six individuals and the verdict was passed by the Multai Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday. Vinay was the branch manager at the time of the embezzlement.

In addition to the prison term, Vinay has also been fined Rs 7 lakh, while the mastermind Abhishek Ratnam has been slapped with ten years of imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh as fine.

“Abhishek Ratnam and Vinay Ojha, through agents, opened fake accounts and embezzled ₹1.25 crore," advocate Vishal Kodale was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

The other two individuals booked in the case are Dhanraj Pawar and Lakhan Hingwe. Both have been sentenced seven years of imprisonment and Rs 7 lakh fine each.

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“During the investigation, it was found that the embezzlement was carried out using the passwords of bank officials," public prosecutor Rajesh Sable was quoted as saying by the national daily.

Bank cashier Dinanath Rathore and trainee branch manager Nilesh Chatrole are the two other members involved in the case. While Rathore is no longer alive, Chatrole was acquitted by the sessions court.

Naman Ojha's cricket record

Ojha was a regular in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has four international appearances for India under his name. He made his debut in ODIs alongside Ravichandran Ashwin against Sri Lanka in Harare back in June 2010. He played as an opener under Suresh Raina's captaincy but was dismissed for 1. He then took part in consecutive T20Is, which was also under Raina's captaincy against Zimbabwe. Ojha, however, failed to make any impact and was dismissed for 2 and 10 while batting as an opener.

Ojha also has one Test appearance under his name, which was under Virat Kohli's captaincy. Ojha's Test debut was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2015 and managed scores of 21 and 35 in both innings. He also chipped in with five dismissals as wicket-keeper.

Ojha has represented three franchises in the IPL - Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad). He has 113 IPL appearances under his name, in which he amassed 1554 runs, which include six half-centuries.

If we look at his domestic record, Ojha took part in 146 first-class games and accumulated 9753 runs, which include 22 centuries, and 55 half-centuries at an average of 41.67. He inflicted a total of 471 dismissals. In List A cricket, he scored 4278 runs from 143 games and 2972 runs from 182 games in T20s.