Mumbai: Australia embassy clean bowls World Cup contest winner

Today Jignesh Sanghrajka feels like somebody who won a jackpot but misplaced the lottery ticket Despite winning an allpaidfor trip to watch the ICC World Cup final in Melbourne on March 29 the 28yearold might now be forced to watch the grand final from his couch at MumbaiOut of the world cup Jignesh Sanghrajka right was all set to visit his sister in Adelaide and watch the ICC World Cup final at Melbourne with his brother Mehul Sanghrajka left Pic Atul KambleJignesh and his older brother Mehulrsquos visas were rejected by the Australian embassy on lsquofinancial groundsrsquo as per a communication to them which sunday midday has a copy of The winner was Jignesh who was to take Mehul along with him on the tripJignesh Sanghrajka left with his elder brother Mehul at thier residence in Princess Street PicAtul KambleFortyoneyearold Mehul is an investment consultant and insurance agent living in Kandivli while Jignesh lives at Princess Street Marine Lines Jignesh who recently joined a startup company was the winner of the Emirates Facebook competition which took place last monthThe contest was open to all those above 18 All they had to do was answer a question on the airlinersquos official Facebook page The competition closed on February 16 Dubai time Jignesh had to predict the winner of the February 15 match between India and Pakistan Jignesh predicted an India win which is what happened at the Adelaide OvalThe winner was entitled to two economyclass return tickets to Melbourne match tickets for the World Cup final three nightsrsquo hotel accommodation on a twinsharing basis at a five star hotel The rough estimate of the package would cost around R3 to 4 lakh per personJignesh would have travelled outside Mumbai for the first time to watch a cricket match ldquoI was really excited when I won this contest It is a dream for any cricket fan to travel to watch the World Cup final Melbourne Cricket Ground the venue for the final is such a historic ground I was looking forward to visit the MCG museum But I am shattered now After coming so close to realising my dream I have missed out due to visa issuesrdquo a dejected Jignesh saidldquoI am crazy about cricket and football I follow every match on TV and whenever there are cricket matches in Mumbai I catch them live at the stadiumrdquo he addedOn February 24 Jignesh was informed on his Facebook page that he had won the prize ldquoI first thought I may have won some merchandise because I often participate in online contests So I sent whatever details they had asked forrdquo said Jignesh A couple of days later Jignesh received an email from the public relations firm of Emirates confirming him as the winner of the contest ldquoI was thrilledI experienced my lifersquos biggest joy I immediately informed my family and friends I could nominate another person to travel with me so I decided to take along my brother Once we received the tickets EK 501 MumbaiDubai and EK 406 DubaiMelbourne and hotel booking confirmation we applied for Australian visas on March 13rdquo explained JigneshJignesh requested the airlines to book their return tickets from Adelaide instead of Melbourne as they wanted to visit their sister for a couple of days ldquoOur return journey was slated to be on April 2 from Adelaiderdquo he saidAlong with all the relevant documents for visa process Jignesh also got a supporting letter from the International Cricket Council ICC So far so good Then came the shock On March 18 Jignesh and Mehul received a letter from R Choudhry Visa Officer Department of Immigration and Border Protection which stated ldquoRegarding your financial circumstances I note that your income as per the income tax documents is not significantly high and therefore I am not satisfied if such an incomeoccupation would constitute an incentive for you to return Considering this I am not satisfied that a genuine visit is intendedrdquoMehul was shocked by the Australian consulatersquos reply ldquoI have been paying nearly R50000 as income tax since the last few years We attached our bank statements and showed a minimum of R1 lakh in our savings account while applying for the visas I also attached a valuation report of our two houses in Mumbai We would also be carrying 1000 Australian dollars despite this being a fullypaid triprdquoldquoWe also produced a letter by my sister who is staying in Adelaide for many years now It is really hard to believe that despite all this the Australian consulate does not believe we are genuine travellersrdquo said a livid MehulA spokesperson from the Australian High Commission in a statement on Sunday said Were looking into it and will contact the applicants to see what can be done