"Happy, pleasantly surprised and excited" — that RK Raghavan's first reaction when dna contacted him on Sunday evening. The former CBI director, who heard from the media that he had been included in a three-member proposed probe panel to look into the IPL spot-fixing scandal, promised to give it his best shot.
"This is really challenging, but I am up for it," said the esteemed dna columnist, who probed the 2000 match-fixing scandal and also headed several SITs. "Look, I don't know Ravi Shastri personally. But I used to be a great fan of his batting and bowling. I look forward to working with him. Also, I have never met JN Patel. I am sure he is a man of eminence. That's why he is on the panel," he added.
When told that Patel used to be the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, Raghavan said, "It would be great to work with him."
The spot-fixing scandal, which erupted last year, left a bad taste in our mouths. Raghavan echoed that sentiment. "Like you, I am also a cricket fan. It hurts to see the game being sullied. I will work to the best of my abilities. The 2000 match-fixing is still green in my head. I will use all that experience this time. Everyone wants to know the truth," he said.
When reminded that Shastri was a paid employee of the board, Raghavan said, "It doesn't concern me. I didn't even know this. Also, you must realise that the Supreme Court has to accept this panel. Only then can we start the probe process."
Verma says Shastri chants 'Srini Chalisa', seeks CBI probe
Mumbai: Slamming the choice of the three-member probe panel proposed by the BCCI, Aditya Verma — the man who filed the PIL in the apex court against the board — said that the composition of the panel was not acceptable to him.
In a statement, the secretary of the unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), said, "Only CBI or an NIA enquiry is acceptable to me because if the apex court-formed the Justice Mudgal Committee is not acceptable to the BCCI, then why should I consider their probe panel. I have no doubt about the credentials of the two learned members (former Calcutta high court chief justice JN Patel and ex-CBI director RK Raghavan) but former India captain Ravi Shastri is a paid employee of the BCCI since a long time. In the last few days post the IPL-6 scam, he has always read 'Srini Chalisa', so no hope from Shastri."
Verma added that he will, on behalf of his association, strongly object to this in the Supreme Court and demand, through his counsel, a CBI or NIA enquiry. "Only the apex court can help change the image of the BCCI," he said.
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