highlights
The names of Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila along with Sreesanth were revealed.
Former Delhi Police Commissioner made a big revelation in the fixing case
New Delhi. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has said that stakeholders have shown a clear lack of seriousness in bringing a law against corruption in Indian sports. This is why someone like tainted former fast bowler S Sreesanth got away despite there being strong evidence of spot-fixing against him in IPL 2013. Neeraj, an IPS officer who served the country for 37 years, was in-charge of Delhi Police when the Special Cell under his guidance arrested Sreesanth and his fellow Rajasthan Royals cricketers Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan on spot-fixing charges.
The Supreme Court, however, asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reconsider the life ban on the former India player despite ruling in 2019 that there was evidence against him. The sentence was eventually reduced to a seven-year suspension, which expired in September 2020. Neeraj said during the conversation, ‘It seems that the matter has not progressed anywhere… Unfortunately, there is no law (in India) to deal with corruption in cricket or corruption in sports in general. Even a country like Zimbabwe has specific laws. This is the law in Australia, New Zealand…In Europe, there is a law because corruption is not only in cricket but also in football, tennis, golf.
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The biggest obstacle is lack of law
Neeraj Kumar was also associated with the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal as part of the CBI investigation team in 2000. He said that the biggest obstacle in prosecuting corruption in sports is the lack of law. He said, ‘For example, many things we do do not stand the test of judicial scrutiny. If we say that people were cheated during match fixing, now the court will ask, show me one person, who has been cheated, present that person in the court. Who will come to court and say that I went to watch a cricket match with the expectation of fair play and everyone playing to the best of their ability? Therefore in the absence of the victim, it becomes very difficult to prove the case.
A law to curb this has been in the works since 2013.
In India, work on a law to curb this is going on since 2013. The Prevention of Sports Corruption Bill (2013) was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2018 and provided for five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh for those found guilty of sports fraud, including fixing. This bill was drafted by Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal and it was considered very important to curb match fixing.
Sreesanth is back in the mainstream
It was to replace the ‘Public Gambling Act 1867′ under which any person involved in betting could only be fined Rs 200 or face three months’ imprisonment. Sreesanth is back in the mainstream and also played Ranji Trophy for Kerala before retiring from first-class cricket. He is now seen in various League of Legends matches and also provides expert opinion on various broadcast platforms.
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Tags: IPL 2013 spot fixing, S Sreesanth
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 7, 2024, 17:01 IST