Asian Gold medallist and
four-time national powerlifting champion Rakhi Sarma was in for a pleasant surprise Thursday when an advocate agreed to pay Rs 9,000 on her behalf to close a court case against the sportsperson.
Senior advocate Anan Kumar Bhuyan said, "I did not want her to be harassed for just Rs 8,961. She is the pride of the nation. She is our asset. That is why I helped her although I did not know her before".
Sarma had purchased a motorcycle on loan for her daughter three years ago and paid the monthly instalment of Rs 1,700 to a private bank.
"However, due to various championships and training camps, I could not pay some instalments on time. So, last time I paid a total of Rs 8,961 to the bank through a cheque," she told PTI on the premises of the court of additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) here.
When Sarma was in Kerala last month for the Master National Championship, in which she bagged Gold and was selected for the World Championship, a court notice was served to her after the cheque bounced.
"I did not have any clue. They could have just informed me about the incident. I would have definitely paid the amount. I have almost repaid the whole loan amount and only about Rs 30,000 is left," said the sportsperson, who is going through a financial hardship.
When she was being cross-examined in the court of ACJM Akhtabul Ala, senior advocate Bhuyan, who was waiting in the courtroom for another case, offered to pay the bounced amount and urged the court to close the case with her acquittal.
With the counsel of the bank agreeing to Bhuyan's proposal, the court closed the case and acquitted Sarma.
A surprised Sarma said, "It proves that good people are still there in the society. From nowhere, the advocate (Bhuyan) came and rescued me. Otherwise, the case probably would have continued for months, if not years".
Sarma won gold in Asian Powerlifting Championship in 2015 and has been a national-level champion for four consecutive times since 2015.
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