A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against star badminton player Lakshya Sen for age fraud in Bengaluru late on Thursday.
Lakshya, his father Dhirendra Kumar, brother Chirag, mother Nirmala and coach U Vimal Kumar have been charged with cheating (Section 420), forgery (468), using a forged document as genuine (471) and acts done by several persons of common intention (34) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by Hindustan Times, was filed by Nagaraja MG.
The complainant has alleged that the Sen family and Kumar forged the birth certificates for Lakshya and Chirag with the intention of playing age-category badminton tournaments since 2010.
At the junior level, an overage player playing in a certain age category tournament gains a natural advantage against others. According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Lakshya is currently 21 years old with a birth date of August 16, 2001. Chirag, on the other hand, is shown as 24 with a birth date of July 22, 1998.
The FIR alleges that by winning matches and tournaments in age category events, Lakshya and Chirag got benefits through the government, thereby defrauding the government and depriving several other players of Karnataka who played in their correct age group.
The complainant has further alleged that by doing so, the Sen family and Kumar “spoiled” the talent of many children, who have been cheated and deprived of government facilities.
The FIR states that legal action should be taken against the five accused. The police are currently investigating the matter.
The Sen family as well as Vimal Kumar were unreachable despite repeated calls.
Lakshya was on Wednesday awarded the Arjuna at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a stellar year on the court. He is currently the highest-ranked Indian men’s singles shuttler in the world at No 6.
After winning a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships in Huelva, Spain, Lakshya started the year brilliantly by winning the India Open here in January. He followed it up with two back-to-back finals at the German Open and All England Open in March.
He was part of the historic triumph of the Indian team that won the prestigious Thomas Cup in May before claiming the Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham in August.
During his junior days, Lakshya won a silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and a bronze at the World Junior Championships at Markham, Canada, later that year. He also won two medals at the Asia Junior Championships, a bronze in 2016 and gold in 2018.
