Wife backs under-fire Basavraja
Firoz Mirza, Hindustan Times
Coming out in support of Basavraja, the sacked videographer of the national women’s hockey team, wife, Padmawati B (52), claimed her husband was a victim of Hockey India’s internal politics. In a telephonic interview to HT on Wednesday, Padmawati expressed faith in the man she has been married to for 22 years. “His nature of trusting anyone without a second thought has landed him in trouble,” she said.
Basavraja is in the news after a TV channel telecast his pictures, allegedly in a compromising position with a woman, on Tuesday. The pictures were reportedly taken during a tour of the women’s team.
A bank official and mother of two, Padmawati was unaware of the incident that has rocked the hockey world till her sister called up on Wednesday morning. Rattled by the allegations levelled against her husband, Padmawati admitted she had seen the photographs. “The controversy has shaken my personal life. It will have severe consequences on my children’s future, who are still pursuing their studies. The incident has spoiled the family’s image to such an extent that it can never be restored,” she sobbed.
Meanwhile, a team official claimed that one of his colleagues in the support staff, in connivance with a player, got access to the mail (a copy of which is in HT’s possession) stored by Basavraja and circulated it. The mail was first circulated in the city on July 17 and was accessed by the media on Tuesday.