2000 match-fixing: Delhi cops still groping in the dark

It took exactly 15 months for the London Metropolitan Police to complete the investigations and send Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer to jail. However, the Delhi Police is still struggling to prepare a charge sheet 11 years after sensationally cracking the match-fixing case.

Delhi cops were the first to get to the bottom of the murky world of match-fixing in 2000 that involved then South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, who died later, and his teammates Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje. Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and his teammates Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja and Ajay Sharma were also allegedly involved.

“The case is still open and is pending investigation. We are awaiting the results from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL),” Ashok Chand, deputy commissioner (crime branch) of Delhi Police, said. When asked as to why the Delhi Police hasn’t filed a chargesheet yet, Chand said, “Let us not mix the investigation of the two countries.”