More sordid details come out as trio confess to spot fixing
New Delhi, May 17 (IANS): More and more sordid details of the spot fixing scandal came tumbling out Friday as the three arrested players, including S. Sreesanth, allegedly confessed to their crime and the involvement of underworld became quite evident.
Even as police sources said they stumbled on the spot fixing racket after they recorded the phone calls of aides of Tiger Memon with bookies, they also found out that one of the players was told to rope in others in the sordid saga.
Cricketers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila and bookies being produced at Saket court in New Delhi on May 16
It was Ajit Chandila, who alongwith his Rajasthan Royals colleague S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan arrested Wednesday night from Mumbai, who told police that he tried to rope in two more players at the behest of bookies who had promised to offer him Rs.20 lakh for bowling a fixed over. But the two players refused.
"During questioning, Chandila told police that he met bookies at Country Club in Manesar (adjoining Delhi) on April 6. In the meeting, the bookies asked him to rope in more players for spot fixing. He gave two names and the bookies asked him to bring them to a party where the deal could be discussed," police sources told IANS.
However, the two cricketers refused to attend the party.
Chandila also told interrogators that in the 2012 IPL season, the last two overs of a match between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals might have been fixed.
Amidst media report that Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty, her husband Raj Kundra and captain Rahul Dravid would also be questioned, police denied calling them for the probe.
The police said they were able to trail the sleazy connection when they started to intercept the calls of aides of Tiger Memon, who is said to be in Dubai, since March 2013.
They also said that escorts were used to lure the players into the net.
Sources also told IANS that when Sreesanth was arrested from Trident Hotel in south Mumbai's Nariman Point late Wednesday, he was with a woman. Police refused to give more details about her. They also ruled out her involvement in spot fixing.
The three players, who alongwith 11 bookies have been remanded to five-days police custody, have been lodged in the Special Cell in Lodhi Colony.
Police said all the three players have confessed to their crime.
While Sreesanth was the only who went without dinner, his two team mates along with the 11 bookies had a hearty meal Thursday night in police custody. But the fast bowler had rajma-chawal as brunch Friday, police sources said.
After having the brunch, Sreesanth was questioned by Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar.
Coming out of the Special Cell office, the top cop said Sreesanth was "cooperating" in the investigations.
The first to break down was Chavan, a senior police officer told IANS.
"He broke down when we questioned him. He accepted that he made a mistake. He also accepted his role in spot fixing," he added.
Of the 11 bookies, Chandresh Patel, who was arrested from Mumbai's Andheri area, may be the main conspirator in this case, police said. He was into the profession for many years, police added.
Sources also said that Sreesanth was directly approached by cricketer-turned bookie Jiju Janardhan, his distant cousin who has also been arrested. He had played for Kerala.
Although the three accused confessed to their crimes, their families and lawyers said they were innocent.
Deepak Prakash, Sreesanth's lawyer, said: "Sreesanth has been falsely or mistakenly arrested. They (Delhi Police) have got some wrong information or mistakenly arrested him."
Delhi Police said more teams have been sent to other states to conduct raids.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, meanwhile, congratulated Delhi Police for the investigations.
Asked about the underworld link in the betting racket, he said: "Police is investigating."
Chavan confesses to spot-fixing, but families say they are innocent
Even as cricketer Ankeet Chavan reportedly confessed to spot-fixing in IPL matches, the families and lawyers of the three arrested Rajasthan Royals players, including fast bowler S. Sreesanth, Friday maintained they were innocent.
According to police, the three accused, have been kept at the Lodhi Colony special cell of Delhi Police.
The first to break down was Chavan, a senior police official told IANS.
"He broke down when we questioned him. He accepted that he made a mistake. He also accepted his role in the spot-fixing," he added.
The three Indian Premier League (IPL) players were Thursday remanded to five days' police custody after their arrest in Mumbai late the previous day.
But the official said Chavan's other two teammates -- Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila -- have, however, not yet accepted the charges.
Chavan's family and lawyers claimed the cricketer was innocent.
"It is said that small fish are easier to catch, that is what has happened here too," Chavan's brother said.
"He is innocent, we know that. He has struggled a lot," he told reporters.
Deepak Prakash, Sreesanth's lawyer, said: "Sreesanth has been falsely or mistakenly arrested. They (Delhi Police) have got some wrong information or mistakenly arrested him."
Asked about Chavan's confession, he said: "They (players) have to confess before the court. Police can say anything, it has no value at all.
"Anyway, Sreesanth has not confessed. Though his name has been involved, there is no issue with Sreesanth. He will fight it out," Prakash told reporters outside the special cell office.
The third cricketer's lawyer Rakesh Kumar, however, accused the Delhi Police of framing the cricketer.
"He is innocent, there is no evidence against him. It is a cooked-up story by police. It is a scandal," Kumar said.
"Delhi Police is deliberately raking the controversy to divert media attention from other issues. Unlawful and illegal procedures were adopted to tape his conversations," he said.
Delhi Police said more teams have been sent to other states to conduct raids.
Besides the three cricketers, Delhi Police also arrested 11 bookies for alleged spot-fixing.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, meanwhile, congratulated Delhi Police for the investigation.
"I congratulate the Delhi Police. Whenever they do good work, I appreciate them," he said on the sidelines of a function here.
Asked about the underworld link in the betting racket, he said: "Police is investigating, it is a preliminary comment."
Police said Pakistani links and the involvement of the Mumbai underworld have surfaced in the investigations.
Sreesanth has been mistakenly arrested, says his lawyer
Indian pacer and Rajasthan Royals player S. Sreesanth has been 'falsely or mistakenly' arrested by the police, his lawyer said Friday.
Speaking to reporters, his lawyer, Deepak Prakash said: "Sreesanth has been falsely or mistakenly arrested. They (Delhi Police) have got some wrong information or mistakenly arrested him."
Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals teammates - Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - were arrested late Wednesday and accused of spot-fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. The cricketer-trio and 11 bookies have been charged with cheating and criminal conspiracy.
According to police, Chavan Friday broke down under interrogation and has accepted his role in the spot-fixing scandal. However, Prakash said the confession had "no value".
"They (players) have to confess before the court. Police can say anything, it has no value at all," said Prakash.
"Anyway, Sreesanth is not confessing. Though his name has been involved, there is no issue with Sreesanth. He will fight it out.
"He is completely cooperating and has explained his innocence," said the lawyer further.
The lawyer also rubbished accusations that Sreesanth used a towel to signal bookies, before the start of an over that he would be giving away runs, saying that a majority of players use towels due to hot weather.
"It's a very casual thing. Ninety percent of the players use towels. The match was played at 4 o'clock... the towel was needed," he said.
Cricket bookies raided in Chennai
Police in Tamil Nadu took into custody five cricket bookies and seized cash, laptops and computers from them here Friday, a day after three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested in Mumbai for allegedly spot-fixing IPL matches in exchange for money.
"We raided nine places here late Thursday and early Friday and took into custody five cricket bookies. It is not match-fixing but betting. The investigation is in a preliminary stage," an official of the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CBCID) told IANS.
"Around Rs.15 lakh (Rs.1.5 million) in cash, laptops, desktop computers and phones have been seized from the bookies," added the official, who did not wish to be identified.
According to him, police conducted the raids after receiving a tip-off that a person was involved in betting. Around 13 teams were involved in the operation.
Some of the bookies under the scanner are absconding and police are on the lookout for them, the official said while not ruling out that some might be abroad.
Police said it would take some time to go through the documents and data in the computers seized from the bookies, who are now being questioned.
India fast bowler S. Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested by Delhi Police late Wednesday on charges of spot-fixing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. Eleven bookies were also nabbed.
BCCI suspends 'middleman' Amit Singh
The Indian cricket board will meet Sunday in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Friday said it had suspended Gujarat medium pacer Amit Singh who, during his stint with Rajasthan Royals, was allegedly used by the bookies to fix deals with cricketers.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Sanjay Jagdale said its working committee will discuss the arrest of three cricketers, including India fast bowler S. Sreesanth, by Delhi Police for their alleged involvement in match-fixing in IPL.
"The Working Committee will discuss, among other things, the fallout of the spot-fixing controversy in the ongoing IPL, in which three players have been arrested by the Delhi Police," said Jagdale in a statement.
BCCI also cracked the whip on Amit Singh, who was also on the board's list of bowlers with suspected action, by suspending him pending inquiry. The trio of Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila was suspended by BCCI Thursday following their arrests.
"Amit Singh, a registered player with the Gujarat Cricket Association, who has also been arrested by the Delhi Police, has been suspended by the BCCI, pending inquiry," said BCCI secretary Jagdale.
Amit Singh, who played for Rajasthan Royals for four years before being benched in the current season, allegedly worked as a conduit between the players and the bookies.
Amit Singh has played 20 first class games for Gujarat besides featuring in 14 List A and 30 T20 matches. His last IPL match was in May 2012.
Chandila tried to rope in two more players, say police
Cricketer Ajit Chandila had approached two more Indian Premier League (IPL) players to be part of the spot fixing after bookies asked him to rope in more people, police sources said Friday.
"During questioning, Chandila told police that he met bookies at Country Club in Manesar (adjoining Delhi) on April 6. In the meeting, the bookies asked him to rope in more players for spot fixing. He gave two names and the bookies asked him to bring them to a party where the deal could be discussed," police sources told IANS.
However, the two cricketers refused to be attend the party.
Then Chandila contacted Ankeet Chavan to be part of the deal. Chavan agreed to it.
According to sources, the bookies - Chandresh Patel, Maman and Amit Singh - had decided to spot fix the IPL matches a month before they were to begin in April. Former Rajasthan Royals cricketer-turned bookie Amit Singh was Friday suspended for spot fixing by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
During the meeting with Chandila, the three bookies fixed the rate of Rs.20 lakh for an over.
Delhi Police arrested Rajasthan Royals players S. Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila from Mumbai for spot fixing. Police also arrested 11 bookies. All of them have been remanded in police custody for five days.
Sources said that Sreesanth was directly approached by cricketer-turned bookie Jiju Janardhanan. He is also a distant cousin of Sreesanth. Jiju had played for Kerala.