17 June,2016 08:35 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
While Aditya Verma gave many BCCI officials sleepless nights, his wife Anupam also had to endure torrid times as they had to sell a bit of their farmland, she reveals
After a year of hearings, the Supreme Court is all set to give its verdict on the implementations of the Justice Lodha Commission's recommendations on June 30.
Aditya Verma
While Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the case, gave many BCCI officials sleepless nights, his wife Anupam too endured torrid times in this battle.
Verma's quest to get Bihar back in the BCCI fold led to several other battles with the Indian cricket board on conflict of interest, transparency and corruption.
To meet expenses of the court cases, Verma's wife Anupam revealed that they had to sell a piece of farmland in Chhapra (Bihar) in 2014.
Aditya Verma's wife Anupam at the Mumbai Press Club yesterday
"There were a lot of sentiments attached to the piece of land since it was bought by our ancestors. They are like your last resort in times of crisis. Although our ancestral house is still there (in Chhapra), we decided to do away with the farmland as we were in dire need of funds for the court cases. We got R40 lakh by selling that," an emotional Anupam told mid-day yesterday.
Although it is a known fact that Verma is not charged by eminent lawyer Nalini Chidambaram, Verma's wife justified the expenses.
"Nalini madam does not charge her fees for which we are grateful, but there are other expenses as well like food, travel and lodging in New Delhi. There are other expenses in the court for preparing the case papers and fees to junior lawyers. We required funds in the initial part of the court case," said Anupam.
Verma's wife feared for her husband's life as Verma waged a lone battle in court against the BCCI bigwigs.
"They are influential people. We are common people. They could do anything to him (Verma). He had already received death threats. We also received calls to drop the case for R10 crore. I feared when he went alone to Delhi," she said.
"His (Verma) fight is not against any individual in the BCCI. It has always been about bringing Bihar's cricketers back in BCCI tournaments. There are many in the BCCI who secretly support us, but refuse to come out in public. If all honest people in the BCCI come together, it will solve all problems," Verma's wife concluded.
