 | « Back to article | Print this article |
'Our investigations do not show involvement of any other players'
Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Thursday clarified that no other IPL player or franchise owner is involved in the spot-fixing scandal that hit Indian cricket on Thursday.
The Delhi Police had earlier in the day arrested Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila for allegedly agreeing to perform by pre-arrangement in three matches in the ongoing sixth edition of the cash-rich tournament.
- How Sreesanth & Co fixed matches
"The bookies and cricketers had reached an agreement that they would give certain signals before the act," revealed Neeraj Kumar.
Quizzed about the possibility of more players or franchise owners being involved, Kumar replied: "As far as we are concerned, no other player or owners are involved.
"These bookies basically spot talent -- talents that can be compromised. So it's a coincidence that three players were involved in the same team. Our investigations do not show involvement of any other players."
'We will be making more arrests in the coming week'
Elaborating how the police busted the racket, Kumar said, "It was an intense operation, wherein we allowed the players to do whatever they were told, so that we could collect evidence.
"And as soon as Chavan did what he was asked to do, our team thought that we now have enough evidence against these three players to arrest them."
He was quick to add that there will be more arrests in the coming days, but none of them would be players.
"We will be making more arrests in the coming week, but they will be bookies and not players," he said.
The Delhi police is in the process of conducting an intensive search of the personal belongings and rooms of the tainted players to find out how much money changed hands.
"The players have just reached Delhi. We will have to check how much of money has changed hands or how much is to be recovered," Kumar said.
'Chavan's over was fixed for Rs 60 lakh'
Chavan is said to have received Rs 60 lakh for conceding 14 runs from his second over and it was Chandila who played moderator between the bookie and player.
"Chandila motivated Chavan through the day at the Mumbai match. It was decided that 14 runs would be given by Ankeet. Chavan's over was fixed for Rs 60 lakh and the advance was taken by Chandila, who was not playing," said Kumar.
Sreesanth, meanwhile, is believed to have received Rs 40 lakh for his role in the episode.
Kumar said the mastermind in the case "is sitting abroad'.
Asked whether Australia's Shaun Tait or any other player is involved, Kumar said, "We have no such evidence. According to us, Shaun Tait is not involved."
Replying to a question from an Australian journalist he said no player from Down Under is involved, adding, "Your country can rest in peace."