Thirteen years after the Delhi Police shocked the cricketing world by busting 'Cronjegate', it is still grappling with evidence to file a preliminary chargesheet in that case. But only 48 hours after it exposed spot-fixing in IPL, Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar claims he has damning proof to nail the tainted trio - S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, says a report in Mail Today.
According to Mail Today report, in an exclusive interview to Rahul Kanwal in Aaj Tak's Seedhi Baat Kumar said, "I am confident the case will stand the test in court. I am fully aware of the loopholes and the weak links in the law, but this time the evidence against the cricketers is overwhelming and we have a watertight case."
When asked why did the Delhi Police hold a media trial of the trio and peddle evidences before the world instead of directly going to the court, Kumar said: "That's because nobody would have believed us. When people go to watch IPL matches, they feel it is a fair game. Fans should know the truth."
This logic from a top cop betrays a degree of unease in the force as Indian cricketers charged with match-fixing have in the past got away with life bans. But Kumar said spot-fixing could just be the tip of the iceberg. "We don't rule out involvement of more players and more IPL teams. Not just spot-fixing, matches may have also been fixed. Investigations are on and we are corroborating evidence," the police commissioner said.
Meanwhile according to a report in Indian Express, in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing controversy, the Centre has decided to bring a legislation to provide "strictest possible" punishment for match-fixing. Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal spoke to Sports Minister Jitendra Singh in this regard.
"Match-fixing destroys the confidence of the public who believe that all sporting events are fair and the outcomes are based on the performances of the sportspersons on the field. Any attempt to fix a match and its result cannot be allowed. I have asked the Secretary, Legislative, to come up with a proposed legislation to ensure that any attempt to fix matches, in any sport, attracts exemplary punishment," Sibal told The Indian Express.
Under prevailing laws, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC), prosecution of match fixers is a problem area as there is no definition of fixing. Also there are no specific provisions in the law to deal with this crime.