Charges have been filed in a New Delhi court on Monday 22 July 2013 by Indian police. They relate to the match-fixing scandal that took place in 2000 when South Africa toured India. The charges have been filed against the late Hansie Cronje as well as the bookmakers. These are the first charges to be filed regarding the incident.
The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Keshav Kumar, said:
There are six accused in this case, three of whom are on bail whereas two are abroad. The sixth is Hansie Cronje, who is dead.
Cronje was the captain of the South African cricket team at the time of the scandal and upon his confession was banned from cricket for life. He confessed to taking bribes from bookmakers and in return swayed the outcome of games, but he denied match-fixing.
Allegations from the Delhi police suggest that Cronje persuaded fellow team members Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams to under-perform. The two were banned from playing cricket for six months and received a fine for their role in the scandal.
A recorded phone conversation between Cronje and bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla exposed the scandal when New Delhi police were investigating an extortion case.
Additional police commissioner Ravindra Yada said:
We will now request the court to grant approval to seek extradition of Chawla from the UK to India. The UK government does not allow extradition without a charge sheet.
This is criminal conspiracy. People went to the ground to watch the games thinking they would be played in the true spirit. They did not know the outcome was fixed. That’s why we have filed the charges.
[Source: Times Live]
