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Other tapes more explosive, say cops

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The betting scandal involving former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje was not accidentally unearthed by the Delhi police.

In fact, an informer had specifically passed on the cellphone number of Rajesh Kalra, the cricket bookie who is currently in police custody, on February 28-29 to Inspector Ishwar Singh of the anti-extortion cell of Delhi Crime Branch. Kalra, who owns a printing press in Okhla area, had till then never figured in the police records.

The informer reportedly told Inspector Singh, who played a key role in exposing the case, "Yeh number dekhlo, ismein kaafi kuchh mil jayega."

The anti-extortion cell of the city police, which basically works on kidnappings, then began collecting details of calls received and made from Kalra's cellphone. After keeping at it for the next two weeks, the cell had details of all callers who were frequently in touch with him.

But it was as late as the evening of March 14 that Inspector Singh and other officials began to tap the number. The mobile phone, though owned by Kalra, was being used by Sanjeev Chawla.

The very first conversation the police recorded was between Chawla and Cronje, when the former was in the lobby of Taj Palace Hotel. It was on the evening of March 14.

The transcript of this particular conversation, in which Cronje invites Sanjay to his room, was made public by the police in their first press conference on the scandal. During this conversation Hansie tells Sanjay that he is staying in room number 346.

On March 15, Sanjay bought a cellphone (number 9810294943) and delivered it to Cronje at his room at about 9 pm. Within minutes of delivering the phone, Sanjay called up someone, believed to be the African contact of the Indian bookies, and gave him Cronje's number. And the policemen got one more number to tap.

And it was from the night of March 15 that the police began to tap Cronje's number. On March 16 the first conversation relating to match-fixing happened. It was during this call, between Cronje and Sanjay, that both the sides discussed the exact mode of the game, who will score how many runs and who would open the bowling etc.

In all there are about 14 tapes with the police.

The conversations in these, other than those released to the media on the first day, would be known to the public only when the transcripts are submitted along with the chargesheet.

"Some of them are more explosive than what we have released," says a reliable police official involved in the investigation.

The police team is proposing to file the chargesheet in 60 to 90 days' time. The chargesheet, police officials said, would make a simple case of cheating against four individuals, at least as of today. The four people are Cronje, Chawla, Rajesh Kalra and Kishen Kumar.

Further names would be added only if Kishen Kumar names more people. Police official say Kumar seems to have taken to cricket betting because he was facing financial troubles. He is locked in a family feud over T-Series.

Police officials also say Chawla did not leave the country on March 15 following a tip-off about the police catching up, but "most probably to make the promised payment to Cronje and others in London".

According to investigations so far, the money from India travelled through the hawala route to London, from where it was transferred to the South African accounts of Chawla's contact. It is this contact who was transferring the money to the players concerned.

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