Pak vs Ban: Indian authorities detain spectators for raising Palestinian flag during match

Indian authorities detained multiple spectators for waiving the Palestinian flag during the Pakistan-Bangaldesh World Cup 2023 match at Edens Gardens, Kolkata Tuesday.

The police detained four spectators for raising the Palestinian flag during the first innings. The detainees were later released by the police without filing any cases.

One of the detainees was a resident of the Ekbalpore area in the city while the other hailed from Bally in the Howrah district. Two others were political workers who took part in a protest march before entering the stadium, the police said.

“After a preliminary inquiry, all four left the Maidan police station. They are residents of Bally in Howrah and Ekbalpore and Karaya areas in Kolkata,” a senior officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Earlier, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan dedicated his side’s win over Sri Lanka during the World Cup 2023 to his “brothers and sisters in Gaza”.

Following Rizwan’s gesture, an Indian lawyer filed a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) against the wicket-keeper batsman for offering prayer on the ground and voicing support for Gaza which — according to the complaint — “defeated the spirit of sports”.

In his complaint, Vineet Jindal — the same lawyer who filed a complaint against Pakistani presenter Zainab Abbas over her “anti-Hindu” statements — urged the top cricketing body to take “strict action” against Rizwan.

“It must be noted that this act of Rizwan, deliberately displaying his religion and dedicating his win to the Gaza resident, that too just after the match in his very sports uniform completely defies the spirit of the sports.”

“The player [Rizwan] publicly on the very soil of India dedicated his victory to the people of Gaza. This conduct of Rizwan does not restrict itself to the cricket field, but to the whole country where this player has declared his support to the Gaza residents and this stands against the ideology of our country,” the complaint read.