CBI enters unchartered course

Experienced though they may be in matters concerning various probes, entering into the unchartered course of cricket match fixing and betting is something new for the Central Bureau of Investigation. But once the government decided that the CBI had to probe the scandal that has rocked the cricketing world, the agency had little choice before it. And four days after Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa made the announcement to this effect in Parliament, the CBI on Tuesday registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) into the scandal after receiving a formal letter from the Sports Ministry to conduct a broad-based probe into the scam.

The letter, sent by the ministry, asked the agency to make a general inquiry into the allegations of match-fixing, according to CBI sources. The PE was registered on Tuesday and the special crime branch of the agency is looking into the case, the sources said. The inquiry will cover all the allegations levelled by some cricketers and members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the past. The CBI has also been empowered to probe any other scandal or allegations concerning the game.

So the CBI has formally started the investigations. But since cricket match fixing and betting is an area in which it is not exactly familar, the officials are not too sure whether they stand on firm ground. In the first place, the government has asked the CBI to make a `general' inquiry and in the absence of anything specific, the agency could find itself under a handicap. The inquiry will have to be of a roving nature. The time frame is another tricky issue for the government has not set one. The whole issue is so complicated that things like where to start, whom to begin with, how to go about asking bookies, middleman, players, mediaman and officials are bound to be a major problem confronting the investigators. Then comes the complex matter of putting all this together and trying to make something concrete out of it. They will also have to contend with the fact that the Delhi Police will continue with the case relating to Hansie Cronje. However the CBI has been asked to make a detailed, all encompassing probe into the issue and with the obvious hurdles it faces, the officials certainly have a job on their hands.

In their favour however the CBI can count on government backing. On Tuesday for example, replying to a spate of supplementaries during question hour in the Lok Sabha on the match fixing issue, Home Minister LK Advani said India may seek the co-operation of Scotland Yard in its probe into match-fixing allegations when a team of the British investigating agency comes here in connection with investigations into similar charges in that country. Advani said Interpol's assistance is already being taken and the investigations would be pursued vigorously. ``When the Scotland Yard team comes here to investigate the allegations of match-fixing against English cricketers, we can also seek their help in our own investigations,'' he said.

Advani reiterated that the government would provide full protection to all those who provide information in the probe. Clearly the government wants to get to the bottom of the controversial issue.

Another point in the CBI's favour is the fact that everyone from players to officials to mediamen have welcomed the government announcement. To that extent, it is encouraging news for the agency as they embark on what is likely to be a tough task.

Meanwhile in another development, Manoj Prabhakar who always makes sure that he stays in the limelight said on Tuesday that he would "soon" make public all details he had to back his allegations of match-fixing in Indian cricket.

Prabhakar said that he had already disclosed the name of a teammate who he claims offered him a bribe during the 1994 Singer Cup tournament in Sri Lanka, but refused to name the government dignitary to whom he had disclosed the name. On Monday in his column on a website Prabhakar claimed that he had revealed to `a big gun' in the government the name of the teammate. And the irrepressible former Indian all rounder kept up the pressure when in a chat with reporters in New Delhi he said he was yet to receive the protection promised by Dhindsa when he met him two days ago on the match-fixing issue.

"They promised to give security. I have not got it yet. They promised to get my benevolent fund withheld by the Board released. That has also not been done. But I have fulfilled my promise," he said. Clearly he will continue to remain a central character in the whole episode.