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Former Ranji woman cricketer from Andhra Pradesh found dead under mysterious circumstances

Former Andhra cricketer Durga Bhavani had alleged sexual harassment against ACA

Former Ranji woman cricketer and member of the Andhra Cricket Association, Maddineni Durga Bhavani, died under suspicious circumstances at her residence at Yadavula Bazar in Machavaram area of Vijayawada. Her body was found hanging from the ceiling on Sunday, though the police have not been able to locate a suicide note.

The all-rounder had represented the senior women’s team of the Andhra Cricket Association, besides participating in junior group tournaments.

Bhavani’s brother J. Satyanarayana lodged a complaint with the Machavaram police. The 28-year-old was married to Maddineni Satya Prasad, a physical education teacher of SKPVV Hindu High School and is has a three-year-old child. Satya Prasad was also her former coach.

The body was shifted to the Government General Hospital mortuary for autopsy. A case has been registered and an investigation is on, Machavaram police said.

According to Machavaram police, Bhavani was found hanging from the ceiling in her house at around 3.15 pm on Sunday. Bhavani’s cousin Durgamba came to visit her in the afternoon and found her hanging from the fan hook. She immediately called Bhavani’s brother who rushed to spot, the police informed. Bhavani had visited her mother’s house on Saturday and had returned to her house on Sunday morning.

Bhavani’s tussle with Andhra cricket board and possible links to death

Her husband, Satya Prasad was at Nuzvid when Durga’s body was found and could not arrive in the city till 8 pm, according to the police. Durga Bhavani, then known as Jagupilla Durga Bhavani, hailed from a poor family and rose to the level of a state player. 

Even though circumstances looked questionable, Durga Bhavani’s brother did not suspect anyone for the death of his sister and the police believes that family problems might have pushed Durga Bhavani to take this extreme step.  

The Andhra cricketer had made headlines recently when she had alleged sexual harassment by a former Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) general secretary. The player tried to expose the corruption in the Andhra cricket body and accused the high profile Chamundeswaranath of seeking sexual favours from young women to retain them in the cricket team. Several players came forward to lodge a complaint with the police. The issue led to his sacking from the ACA.

However, she later withdrew her complaint against the official before a court and said that she had been coerced by an official from Tirupati to do so.

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