Three days after pulling out of the IPL and returning home to India, Suresh Raina broke his silence and appealed to the Punjab Government to help bring to justice the men who attacked his family.
“What happened to my family is Punjab was beyond horrible. My uncle was slaughtered to death, my bua (father’s sister) & both my cousins had sever injuries. Unfortunately my cousin also passed away last night after battling for life for days. My bua is still very very critical & is on life support. Till date we don’t know what exactly had happened that night & who did this. I request Punjab Police to look into this matter. We at least deserve to know who did this heinous act to them. Those criminals should not be spared to commit more crimes,” wrote Raina is two tweets.
After Raina returned home to India on Saturday and pulled out of the IPL, reports had revealed that his family had been attacked by armed robbers in a Punjab town on 19 August.
A group of four members of the notorious 'Kale Kachhewala' gang had attacked the family while asleep on the terrace of their residence, police said. The incident occurred in Thariyal village near Madhopur in Pathankot district.
The cricketer's uncle was identified as Ashok Kumar, a government contractor who had sustained grievous head injuries during the assault. He passed away later that night.
His 80-year-old mother Satya Devi, his wife Asha Devi, sons -- Apin and Kaushal - too suffered injuries, said the police. Raina has now said one of his cousins too has since succumbed to injuries.
Earlier, CSK CEO KS Viswanathan was quoted as saying in a tweet, "Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time."
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