New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday said that it will take match-fixing accused Sanjeev Chawla, who was brought to New Delhi on Wednesday after his extradition from London, to various places including the venues where matches of India-South Africa series were played in the year 2000 for investigation in the match-fixing case.
On Thursday, Chawla was sent to 12-day police custody by Delhi's Patiala House Court.
"First of all he has to be interrogated at length to unearth the whole conspiracy, all accused involved in India or abroad are to be identified. He has to be taken to Cochin, Jamshedpur, Faridabad, Vadodra, Nagpur Mumbai and Bangalore for investigation and detailed interrogation and confrontation with other accused persons is to be carried out to completely unearth the match fixing conspiracy," the Delhi Police's Crime Branch told the court.
The match-fixing racket was busted by the Delhi police in 2000.
Terming Chawla as the "main conduit" in the match fixing in India-South Africa cricket series in 2000, the Delhi Police Crime Branch had sought Chawla's custody for 14 days. However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sudhir Kumar Sirohi permitted Delhi Police to quiz Chawla only for 12 days.
Speaking to reporters here, DCP Crime Branch Ram Gopal Naik said there were six accused in the chargesheet of whom three were arrested.
"The other two accused were Sanjeev Chawla and Manohar Khattar. Khattar is in the US as per our information," Naik said.
Former South African captain Hansie Cronje, who later died in a plane crash, had also been named in the chargesheet.
In India vs South Africa Series, five one day matches and three Test matches were played. The ODI matches were played at Cochin, Jamshedpur, Faridabad, Vadodra and Nagpur whereas the Test matches were played at Mumbai and Bangalore.
"The accused Sanjeev Kumar Chawla played the main conduit in the above match fixing and while committing the above-said crime he stayed in the same hotels where the teams were staying. He had given money, mobile phone and also transferred money in accounts of accused Hansei Cronje. He was in regular contact with other three accused persons and many others," the Crime Branch told the court.
Public Prosecutors Atul Kumar Shrivastava and Anil Paswan told the court that the accused is required to be confronted with evidence in connection with match-fixing of five ODI international matches and some test matches that took place in 2000.
Advocates Vineet Malhotra and Hemant Shah appeared for Sanjeev Chawla and opposed the Delhi Police plea seeking custodial interrogation stating that the chargesheet has been filed in the case.
The lawyers also said that as per the extradition terms and conditions, the government has assured that Chawla would be only kept in Tihar Jail.
Malhotra said that Chawla is not an Indian citizen, which was opposed by prosecutors saying that he was earlier an Indian citizen.
ANI report.
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