'Bookie' Sanjeev Chawla sent to Tihar, to be kept in isolated cell

Alleged cricket bookie Sanjeev Chawla, who was sent to the Tihar Jail today, will be lodged in jail no 3, and will be the only inmate in his cell.

New Delhi:Sanjeev Chawla, an alleged bookie and a key accused in one of cricket's biggest match-fixing scandals that involved former South African captain Hansie Cronje, reached the Tihar Jail on Friday, officials said.

Chawla got an interim relief from custodial interrogation with the Delhi High Court sending him to the Tihar Jail on Friday till further orders.

Chawla (50), who was extradited from the United Kingdom on Thursday, will be kept in jail number 3. He will be the only inmate in his cell, a senior jail official said.

According to the extradition treaty between India and the UK, all basic facilities will be ensured and consular access provided to Chawla and his safety and security will be ensured.

Read:Delhi Police to take extradited bookie Sanjeev Chawla to India-SA match venues of 2000

Accompanied by a crime branch team from London, Chawla, who is a British national, reached the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Thursday morning.

India has assured the UK authorities regarding the medical facilities to be provided to Chawla and protection from intra-prison violence.

Chawla is alleged to have played a central role in conspiring with Cronje to fix South Africa's tour of India in February-March, 2000.

British court documents say Chawla is a Delhi-born businessman who moved to the UK on a business visa in 1996, but continued to make trips to India.

(PTI Report)