Investigations manifest that the Chawla remained in constant touch with the South African captain Hansie Cronje at most of the venues of the matches that were later alleged to be fixed.
Hours after suspected bookie Sanjeev Chawla moved the Delhi High Court to challenge his 12-day custodial remand Friday, the court sent him to Tihar prison till further orders. The court also asked the Delhi Police Crime Branch to file a status report on Chawla’s plea challenging his custodial remand by the trial court.
The court order to send Chawla to Tihar jail was delivered after his counsel told the court that during his extradition, the Union Home Ministry had assured the United Kingdom government that he would be kept in Tihar jail to face trial. The court also issued notice to the Home Ministry on Chawla’s plea and listed it for next hearing on February 19.
EXPLAINED | Sanjeev Chawla extradited: The bookie’s role in one the biggest cricket match-fixing scandals
Chawla is alleged to have played a central role in conspiring with Cronje to fix a South African tour to India in February-March 2000.
Meanwhile, Delhi police authorities Thursday brought bookie Chawla to India from the UK, after legal formalities for his extradition were completed. Over the past two months, a Delhi Police Crime Branch team had attended several court hearings in the extradition case.
ALSO READ | Bookie Sanjeev Chawla: The man who knows too much
The scandal first came to light in April 2000. The Delhi Police intercepted a conversation between the blacklisted bookie Chawla and Cronje, in which it was learnt that the South African captain had accepted money to lose matches.
A top international player, that too a national captain, caught on tape sharing match information with a member of an illegal betting syndicate sent shockwaves through the world of cricket, forcing authorities across countries to probe corruption among players.
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