Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina’s cousin, Saurabh Kumar, and his friend Shubham were tragically killed in a hit-and-run incident near Gaggal airport in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday night. The incident occurred around 11:30 pm when the victims’ scooter collided with a car driven by Sher Singh.
According to the police, Singh fled the scene but was later arrested in Mandi with the help of CCTV footage. He has been charged under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 187 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the cricketing community and beyond. Raina, who is currently playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), expressed his grief and condolences on social media.
“My heart is broken. I have lost my cousin brother Saurabh Kumar and his friend Shubham in a tragic accident. They were like my own brothers. I can’t believe they are gone,” Raina tweeted.
Raina’s decision to withdraw from the IPL 2020 season in the UAE was also due to a family tragedy. He revealed that his relatives were killed in Punjab by a group of gangsters, and he needed to be with his family during this difficult time.
“There was bereavement in the family, I went to Punjab. In my uncle’s family, there were deaths. The kaccha gang..who come with oil on their body. A group of gangsters killed the entire family, my grandmother was also there. It happened in Pathankot. So I went there. But there was a bio-bubble in the IPL, where you couldn’t return. My father was very upset. When the Kachche gang did what they did, my entire family was in stress. I thought cricket came next, I could play anytime, first, my family was important,” Raina said during an interaction on Lallantop.
The cricketing fraternity has come together to offer their support to Raina and his family during this difficult time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed its condolences and said that it would provide all necessary assistance to Raina and his family.
