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Azharuddin questioned by Bombay police |
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April
30, 2000
BOMBAY,
Apr 28: Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was questioned by Bombay
police, who are investigating the murder of prominent diamond trader, a
senior police officer said Friday, reports AP. Ashraf Patel was
shot dead Monday by three assailants as he was getting out of his car
outside his house in downtown Bombay. Patel, who was one
of the city's biggest retailers of Swiss watches and owned a string of
galleries selling premier brands, met with Azharuddin a couple of days
before he was killed. The skipper was being questioned about his links
with Patel, police said. Police investigating
an extortion ring and a betting and match-fixing scandal involving former
South African captain Hansie Cronje believe Patel was the target of a
powerful bookie network that stretches from Bombay to Dubai. "Preliminary
questioning of Azharuddin has been done. He will be questioned again and
again. This is not a small case," Deputy Commissioner of Police Jai
Jeet Singh told the Associated Press. "We're working
on the match-fixing link. Match-fixing cannot be ruled out," he said
when asked about the possible cause of Patel's murder. Patel may have been
the victim of rivalry between two betting syndicates or a disagreement
about settlement of dues, said a police officer who did not wish to be
identified. So far Azharuddin
has been questioned on telephone, but police have asked him to be
available for further questioning in person. Sanjay Dutt, a
popular actor in Hindi films, has also been interrogated by police. He was
seen with Patel a few hours before he was killed. Patel's business
dealings helped him build close ties with cricketers, movie stars and
models, police said. Azharuddin and Dutt
are the first Indian celebrities to be grilled by police after South
Africa captain Hansie Cronje's admitted receiving 10,000 dollars from a
bookie for information on an England-Zimbabwe match, part of a one-day
triangular series in South Africa in February. Delhi Police has
filed a case of cheating and fraud against Cronje and three other South
African cricketers. They have also released the transcript of a taped
phone conversation allegedly between Cronje and an Indian bookie about
throwing a one-day match against India earlier this year. The cricketers
have denied all allegations. Federal Sports
Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa announced in parliament Friday that the
Central Bureau of Investigation would probe allegations into match-fixing. Azharuddin is one of
four Indian cricketers named by the Indian newsweekly, Outlook, for links
with bookies. The batsman has refuted the charge. Police say bookies
are the first link in a complex chain that includes match fixers who have
contacts with international cricket players and celebrities keen on
betting. Betting on cricket, the most popular sport in the country, is illegal. But bets worth an estimated 10 billion rupees (230 million dollar) are placed on one-day international matches across the country. All money earned through this evades the income tax net. Bangla2000 News |