Security has been beefed up at MS Dhoni’s farmhouse in Ranchi following violent threats to his family on social media after Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Mahi’s wife Sakshi and daughter Ziva have stayed back in Ranchi while the IPL T20 is being held in the UAE.
Dhoni, the cricketing legend and former captain of Team India, is going through a bad phase in the IPL. His failure with the bat and CSK losing five of the seven matches led to a section of angry fans abuse him. A few reportedly issued even rape threats to his five-year-old daughter.
Taking no chances, Jharkhand Government has mounted a 24-hour vigil at Dhoni’s farmhouse and deployed a static force to keep a watch. Even the cyber cell is at work to track the ones who made such distasteful comments.
“Frequency of patrolling near Dhoni’s farmhouse has been increased. We are keeping a close watch on the movement of suspicious elements near the house. In addition to that, a squad has also been kept reserve at a certain distance from his farmhouse to deal with any exigency.
“A number of static force, which already was deployed in and around his farmhouse, has also been increased,” Rural SP Naushad Alam said according to New Indian Express.
The Vice-President of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), Ajay Nath Shahdeo, also termed such an incident unfortunate and went on to say cricket should be watched for entertainment and nothing else.
“Cricket should only be seen as a medium of entertainment, but people are going beyond it, keeping others modesty on stake. This is really unfortunate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the young cricketers of Jharkhand who idolise MSD have decided to stage a protest at Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi.