Mumbai: The BCCI on Wednesday received the internal probe report on IPL spot-fixing.
RN Sawani, a former IPS officer was given the responsibility of
internally probing the spot-fixing and betting scandal involving three
cricketers. The fate of the report, which was completed without getting
any access to the arrested players and complete evidence collected by
the Delhi Police, was yet to be decided keeping in view the crisis that
has engulfed the cricket board.
The BCCI had appointed RN Sawani, who probed the 2000 match-fixing
case, to submit its report to the Cricket Board after analysing the
probe of Delhi and Mumbai police.
The mandate of the probe was to examine allegation levelled by the
Delhi Police against the three players and the three matches that have
been listed by the Delhi Police, official sources said.
However, the BCCI-appointed one-man probe team could not question
the three players -- Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila as they were in
judicial custody whereas Ankeet Chavan was out on bail only for marriage
purposes.
The BCCI had got in touch with the Delhi Police requesting them to
allow examination and sharing of the evidence against the three players.
All the three have been suspended pending an enquiry.
The BCCI had given a time of 15 days to Sawani to complete the probe.
According to sources, Delhi Police shared some basic details about
the case which included how they stumbled on spot-fixing and involvement
of the players and their subsequent negotiations.
Special cell of the Delhi police had arrested Sreesanth, Chandila
and Chavan -- along with bookies after their team’s IPL match against
Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on May 16.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control
of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA against India's most-wanted underworld
don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel. Appearing before the court, the
Delhi Police on Tuesday told the magistrate that they have significant
evidence against the two crime kingpins and claimed that they control
the alleged betting and spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League.
The police have also made them as co-accused along with over 20
people arrested in the spot-fixing scandal including S Sreesanth.
The police told the magistrate that Dawood Ibrahim's syndicate
controls gambling in India through hawala channels. The money, the
public prosecutor alleged, is generated in India and is then funneled
out.
The investigators seems to have established direct links between
some of the big bookies arrested in the case and the underworld bosses,
through hundreds of phone calls intercepted as part of the
investigations. The police have also intercepted some phone calls which
were made to an unidentified person based in Pakistan.
Additional public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan said, "The command ... for
betting came from abroad from people with record of organised crime.
The accused were involved... indulging in betting in connivance with
them." The police added that the syndicate used henchmen like Sheikh
Shakeel to threaten people to follow their diktats.
"Since the accused persons were acting on command of people based
abroad like Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and Chota Shakeel who have a
continuous past record of organised crimes, provisions of MCOCA have
been invoked against the accused," police told Additional Sessions Judge
Sanjiv Jain.
The court, in its order, referred to the approval granted by Joint
Commissioner of Police Special Cell for invoking section 3 and 4 of
MCOCA and also a report citing reasons for the same.
"This organised crime syndicate besides controlling illegal betting
was indulging in fixing performance of players and also the rates of
betting," police told the court.
Under the MCOCA, charge sheet can be filed within a maximum period
of 180 days as against 60-90 days under provisions of IPC. The police
custody can be extended till 30 days under MCOCA whereas under IPC, it
can only be extended for 15 days.
The accused face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment along with fine of Rs. 5 lakh under section 3 of MCOCA while the jail term can go upto ten years along with fine of Rs. one lakh and properties of the accused can also be attached under section 4.
Interim BCCI President Jagmoahn Dalmiya assured that he would
initiate all efforts to achieve the ultimate goal so that "the good name
of cricket is retained". (with PTI inputs)
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