Bangladeshi fan Rabi-ul-Islam has been sent home following the controversy on Day 1 of the second Test against India in Kanpur. The fan, who is popularly known as Tiger Robi, had claimed that he was assaulted inside the Green Park Stadium only to later revoke his statement.
Additional DCP (Local Intelligence Unit) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava stated that Robi is suffering from metastatic cancer and came to India on September 18 on a medical visa to receive treatment at a hospital in Howrah. However, he instead traveled to Chennai to support the Bangladesh team during their first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium before heading to Kanpur. The police official added that the authorities have now helped him return home based on his request.
According to NDTV, Robi stayed at a hotel on Friday night and was taken to Chakeri Airport in Kanpur on Saturday morning. He was escorted by police personnel to Airport, and they stayed there until his flight departed for Delhi. Sources said that the Bangladeshi fan then took a flight to Dhaka from Delhi Airport in the afternoon.
According to officials, Robi arrived in Kanpur on Thursday night and slept on the street with laborers. He reached the Kanpur stadium on Friday morning and went to the C-Balcony enclosure, where he was seen waving flags. Police officials claimed that this may have led to tiredness, resulting in him falling ill. Upon noticing him, the officials took him to Regency Hospital and was discharged late Friday evening.
“He was found gasping for breath when he met a constable. He became unconscious before we could speak to him,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Harish Chander was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Earlier, Robi told the reporters that he had been punched in the abdomen by a few people at the stadium. Meanwhile, police said that he had been under the weather before arriving at the match and there was no assaul.
“He is fine now, and we took him to Regency Hospital for a check-up. There was no assault, just a case of heat exhaustion,” a police official at the hospital said.
Later in the day, he stated that he was hospitalized after his condition worsened and that the police brought him to the hospital.
“I fell ill and the police brought me to the hospital. Now I am feeling much better,” he stated in a short video clip.