NEW DELHI: Indian cricketer and Rajasthan Royals player S Sreesanth on Friday confessed to spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), police said.
"Sreesanth has confessed to spot-fixing. He was teary eyed during interrogation," a Delhi Police official said.
Rajasthan Royals cricketer Ankeet Chavan was the first to accept his role in spot-fixing during questioned by Delhi Police while the third player, Ajit Chandila, has not yet accepted the charges.
The three were sent to five-day police custody on Thursday after being brought to Delhi from Mumbai, where they were arrested.
The trio was questioned on Friday by officials of Delhi Police special cell.
Besides the three cricketers, Delhi Police have also arrested 11 bookies for alleged spot-fixing.
'Innocent'
Earlier, Ankeet Chavan too reportedly confessed to spot-fixing in IPL matches.
Even as the families and lawyers of the three arrested Rajasthan Royals players on Friday maintained they were innocent.
According to police, the three accused, have been kept at the Lodhi Colony special cell of Delhi Police.
The first to break down was Chavan, a senior police official said.
"He broke down when we questioned him. He accepted that he made a mistake. He also accepted his role in the spot-fixing," he added. The three IPL players were on Thursday remanded to five days' police custody after their arrest in Mumbai late the previous day.
But, the official said Chavan's other two teammates - Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila - have, however, not yet accepted the charges.
Chavan's family and lawyers claimed the cricketer was innocent.
"It is said that small fish are easier to catch, that is what has happened here too," Chavan's brother said.
"He is innocent, we know that. He has struggled a lot," he told reporters.
Deepak Prakash, Sreesanth's lawyer, said, "Sreesanth has been falsely or mistakenly arrested. They (Delhi Police) have got some wrong information or mistakenly arrested him."
Asked about Chavan's confession, he said, "They (players) have to confess before the court. Police can say anything, it has no value at all.
"Anyway, Sreesanth has not confessed. Though his name has been involved, there is no issue with Sreesanth. He will fight it out," Prakash told reporters outside the special cell office. The third cricketer's lawyer Rakesh Kumar, however, accused the Delhi Police of framing the cricketer. "He is innocent, there is no evidence against him. It is a cooked-up story by police. It is a scandal," Kumar said.
"Delhi Police is deliberately raking the controversy to divert media attention from other issues. Unlawful and illegal procedures were adopted to tape his conversations," he said.
Delhi Police said more teams have been sent to other states to conduct raids. Besides the three cricketers, Delhi Police also arrested 11 bookies for alleged spot-fixing.
Home minister Sushil kumar Shinde, meanwhile, congratulated Delhi Police for the investigation.
"I congratulate the Delhi Police. Whenever they do good work, I appreciate them," he said on the sidelines of a function here.
Asked about the underworld link in the betting racket, he said: "Police is investigating, it is a preliminary comment." Police said Pakistani links and the involvement of the Mumbai underworld have surfaced in the investigations. |
