BCCI to appoint retired DGP Ajit Singh Shekhawat as head of ACU

The BCCI has decided to appoint former DGP of Rajasthan, Ajit Singh Shekhawat as the new head for their ACU. A BCCI official confirmed that the retired cop will replace Neeraj Kumar as the new head at the ACU.

"Yes, the BCCI has finalized Mr. Ajit Singh's name as the new ACU chief. He has been a decorated officer with the speciality in dealing with anti-corruption activities. He fits BCCI's bill perfectly," said the BCCI official reported PTI.

Singh was an alumnus of St Stephen's College IPS batch of 1982 and served as a DG of prison in Jaipur and also had small stints as the SP of multiple districts like Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Sirohi.

Reports suggested that his stint as the Additional Director of Rajasthan's Anti-Corruption Bureau, which consisted of 600 cases lodged against individuals, won him this position over his contenders.

He is set to take the charge from Neeraj Kumar as the head of BCCI’s ACU before the start of the IPL. Kumar had been the head of the ACU for the last three years and it he who had unearthed the 2013 spot-fixing scandal involving tainted Indian cricketer S.Sreesanth along with uncapped Indian players Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila.

Kumar had headed the investigations involving the Pune’s curator Pandurang Salgaoncar, who was caught in a sting operation for sharing information with two TV reporters posing as bookies. As the current ACU’s strength is of three people and the BCCI has asserted that Singh might face this as his biggest challenge.

"Considering the number of matches that BCCI holds every year under its aegis which is more than 1500 (all age-groups, senior tournaments, IPL), to perform his duties efficiently, Singh would require at least a 15-member team (permanent staff). Just having temporary ACU officials - like it is done in first-class games won't be of any help," concluded the BCCI official.