14-day custody for Kumar, Kalra grilling continues

Duty Magistrate Swarn Kanta Mehra extended Kalra’s custody in ED till Sunday for further interrogation while remanding Kumar to judicial custody in Apollo Hospital.

Mehra sought from the hospital authorities whether Kumar, brother of slain music baron Gulshan Kumar, could be shifted to AIIMS and posted an application moved by the ED in this regard for hearing on Monday before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal.

The ED, which arrested Kumar at the hospital on Friday on the basis of statement made by co-accused Rajesh, moved the application through counsel Subhas Bansal that the Bollywood actor should be exmined by a panel of doctors at the AIIMS.

Kalra, who had already been interrogated by the Crime Branch Police for six days, was the first man arrested in the case allegedly involving South African cricketer Hansie Cronje and four of his team-mates besides some Indians.

On the basis of his disclosure and documents recovered from the residence and business premises of another key accused Sanjeev Chawla, now in London, ED wants to question Kumar provided he is fit for being quizzed.

Meanwhile, the BCCI is expected to take a decision to make public the Justice Chandrachud Committee report during its office-bearers’ meeting with International Cricket Council’s president Jagmohan Dalmiya next week at Calcutta.

This was indicated today by the Baroda-based secretary of the Board, Jaywant Lele, on being contacted by newsmen.

“We will take a decision on that issue on April 18 during our meeting with Dalmiya,” he informed.

The pressure on the Board to make public the report, submitted by the former Chief Justice in 1997, has increased following the opinions of the man who headed the one-man probe commission himself and Home Minister L K Advani in favour of such a step being taken by the BCCI.

“The report was done at the behest of BCCI and I do not know why they have not published it as yet,” the Home Minister had told Aaj Tak yesterday.

Advani had said if there were any specific instances where a cricketer named another of being involved in match-fixing, government will order investigating agencies to inquire into these.

Referring to the Chandrachud Committee, which probed alleged involvement of Indian players in match-fixing but subsequently absolved all cricketers of any wrongdoings three years ago, Advani had said if any names of Indian cricketers come up in the wake of recent scandal enveloping the cricket world, the government would not hesistate to get to the bottom of it.

In yet another development, the government might consider making betting on the game legal to minimise the mischief potential of manipulators, Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said today in Chandigarh.

The Minister’s statement comes close on the heels of suggestions in various quarters that there was scope for manipulators to operate in the sub-continent as betting was illegal in the region.

"The sports ministry, after holding a meeting with top board officials and cricket players and seeing the outcome of debate on the issue of betting in the ensuing Parliament session, will come out with concrete plans to counter such happenings in the game in future", Dhindsa told newsmen here.

He said the ministry would also see if betting could be made legal in cricket like in some other sports only after after getting the views of experts.

Dhindsa said the Centre would soon initiate "stern steps" to cleanse the game of cricket of betting and match-fixing following thorough deliberations with experts,

On the basis of discussions at the meeting he has called in Delhi on April 27 with Cricket Board officials and captains, past and present, the ministry will decide whether a CBI inquiry or any other probe should be ordered into the allegations of match fixing and betting", Dhindsa said.