Sourav Ganguly and wife Dona file police complaint over death threat letters

Former India captain and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and his wife, Dona Ganguly, have filed a police complaint after receiving letters containing death threats, police sources said on Monday.

According to the complaint, filed by Ganguly's personal assistant, two letters addressed to Sourav and Dona Ganguly were opened on Monday at the office of the Bengal cricket association president. Written in English, the letters allegedly contained serious threats to the lives and safety of the couple and of the people working with them.

Complaint lodged at Thakurpukur Police Station

A written complaint was submitted at Thakurpukur Police Station in Kolkata, and the state government's security department has also been alerted. The complaint urges police to identify the person responsible and to take the necessary action to ensure the safety of Ganguly, his wife and their staff.

Family sources said similar letters had reportedly been received over the past six months. The family had initially treated the earlier letters, which contained objectionable remarks from unknown individuals, as expressions of personal resentment and did not take them seriously. The latest correspondence was described as an escalation, with explicit threats to the couple's lives and personal safety, which prompted the family to approach the police.

Investigation under way

Police have launched an investigation and are taking measures to ensure the safety of the former India captain and his family. A senior police officer said investigators have spoken to people at a courier service and traced one mobile number linked to the letters. Ganguly has said the number is from Kolkata. Police are also examining whether a single person sent all of the letters and what the motive may have been. The investigation is ongoing.

Ganguly's public roles

Ganguly was elected unopposed as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) at the body's 94th annual general meeting on 22 September 2025. He succeeded his brother Snehasish Ganguly and returned to the post after six years, having earlier held it from 2015 to 2019.

He served as BCCI president from October 2019 to October 2022, when Roger Binny succeeded him. As a player, Ganguly appeared in 113 Tests for India, scoring 7,212 runs with 16 centuries, and in 311 one-day internationals, scoring 11,363 runs with 22 centuries. He captained India in 147 ODIs, winning 76.

Recent headlines

Ganguly has been in the news in recent months for other reasons. A biopic of his life, titled Dada, began filming in April, with Rajkummar Rao in the lead role, Vikramaditya Motwane directing, and Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg producing. Rao announced the start of the shoot on Instagram with the message:

"And it begins… The one and only #DADA."

In April, Ganguly was also seen embracing Shah Rukh Khan at Eden Gardens, a moment shared by Kolkata Knight Riders on social media, after rain forced the IPL match between the Knight Riders and Punjab Kings to be called off.