Vijay Mallya and family was heckled by Indian fans at The Oval in UK

• Crowds chanted “chor hai, chor hai (you are a thief)” as they spotted Mallya at the match
• A similar incident occurred in January 2017.
• He owes as much as ₹90 billion to a clutch of banks, led by SBI.

Long gone are the days when liquor baron Vijay Mallya would walk into cricket stadiums as an IPL team owner, welcomed with cheers. The wanted businessman who has now fled India, was booed and heckled by crowds at The Oval as he watched the India-Australia match with his family, in the UK.

Crowds chanted “chor hai, chor hai (you are a thief)” as they spotted Mallya at the match. This is not the first time when Mallya, who has fraud and money laundering charges against him in India, was heckled by crowds.

A similar incident occurred in January 2017 to Mallya at The Oval stadium, to watch the Champions Trophy match between South Africa and West Indies. According to NDTV reports, crowds cried “chor, chor" (thief, thief)” at him.

‘Here to watch the match’

In a video from the World Cup match, Mallya was seen surrounded by a small crowd, pushing and shoving him, as the cries grew louder. At one point, someone even shouted, “Be a man, apologize to your country,” is heard, to which Mallya mumbled an inaudible response.

“I am making sure my mother doesn’t get hurt. I am here to watch the game,” Mallya told news agency ANI, adding that preparations are underway for the next hearing scheduled in July.

He has been fighting India's attempts to extradite him., and try him for his financial crimes. Mallya left India in 2016 before a lookout notice was issued against the former owner of Kingfisher Airlines. He owes as much as ₹90 billion to a clutch of banks, led by SBI.

Mallya was at The Oval with his son, Siddharth Mallya, and posted a photo with him.
In denial

Mallya had repeatedly denied fleeing the country and said he is ready to pay back the money he owes to Indian banks.

The London High Court will hear his oral plea against his extradition on July 2. Earlier, the High Court had rejected his plea against the extradition order by the UK Home Office and the Westminster Court.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also moved the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court last year to get them to declare Mallya declared a “fugitive economic offender”. This will allow them to confiscate his properties estimated to be worth ₹120 billion, making it the first such case of its kind, under the new law.