National Investigation Agency (NIA): The security of the Indian cricket team has been tightened after the NIA conveyed to the government earlier today that the Indian captain Virat Kohli is in the threat list sent to them by “All India Lashkar”.
The threat lists are often sent to NIA, but they generally don’t have the names of any sportsperson. Kohli is the first cricketer whose name has appeared in any such threat list.
India has had many famous cricketers in the past, but Kohli seems to have surpassed all the benchmark of stardom set-up by the previous cricketers. He is almost a global brand and one of the most powerful personalities in the country. His popularity across the globe might be the reason why he is on this list.
There are question marks if the letter, in which the “on-target” people are listed, has indeed come from the All India Lashkar because such letters can often be a trick to deceive the government agencies.
But, given the stature of the people mentioned in the letter, the NIA couldn’t have ignored it.
The Indian team will be in Delhi this week where they have to play the first match of the India vs Bangladesh T20I series. The men in blue are likely to receive high level security after the receipt of this letter.
Not only the security of the team, but the security of the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the game is going to be organized, is also going to be on police’s watch.
It’s possible that new guidelines might be issued for the spectators coming to the stadium, however the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) hasn’t yet released any statement regarding that.
Apart from Virat, the other prominent personality whose name is there in the threat list is the Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi.
