The president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), A. Jagan Mohan Rao, was arrested on Wednesday by the Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID). He was taken into custody for his alleged role in a ticketing scam linked to the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Along with Rao, four other top officials of the HCA were also arrested—Treasurer C. Srinivas Rao, CEO Sunil Kante, General Secretary Rajender Yadav, and his wife, G. Kavita. They were all brought in for questioning over serious charges of forgery, financial cheating, and misuse of free match tickets.

The investigation began after Dharam Gurava Reddy, general secretary of the Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), filed a complaint on June 9. Based on this complaint, the CID registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)—including 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using fake documents as real), 403 (misuse of property), 409 (breach of trust by a public servant), and 420 (cheating), along with Section 34, which deals with acts committed together by multiple people.

Rao is accused of submitting a fake document to take part in the HCA elections.

Dispute with SRH over extra complimentary tickets

Apart from forgery, the HCA also faced accusations from IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) over ticket distribution. As per a signed agreement between SRH, HCA, and the BCCI, the HCA is allowed to receive 3,900 complimentary match tickets, which equals 10% of the stadium's total capacity.

However, SRH claimed that HCA officials demanded 10% more tickets, which the franchise refused. In one incident, just hours before a match between SRH and Lucknow Super Giants on March 27, Rao allegedly locked a corporate box and asked for 20 extra complimentary tickets. SRH said this violated the agreement.

The franchise accused the HCA of using “blackmailing tactics” and even warned that they might shift their home games to another state if the pressure continued. The HCA denied all such allegations.

To calm the situation, HCA Secretary R. Devraj called for a meeting with SRH representatives Kiran, Saravanan, and Rohit Suresh at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

Final agreement and joint statement

After detailed talks and phone discussions with SRH CEO Mr. Shanmugam, both parties agreed to follow the original agreement.

“The category allocation of 3,900 complimentary passes to HCA will remain unchanged, consistent with established practice,” said their joint statement.

They also agreed to work together to improve the experience for fans at the stadium.

“HCA and SRH are committed to working together amicably to enhance the spectator experience at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium,” the statement added.

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