Chandila 'shocked' by spot-fixing charges

Ajit Chandila, the Rajasthan Royals spinner who was arrested on May 16 for alleged spot-fixing in the IPL, has said he is innocent and was "never approached". Chandila, who was arrested along with Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and several bookies, was reportedly out on interim bail from August 3 to 5 for his brother's funeral.

"I have no clue about the spot-fixing controversy. I have never been approached by anybody," Chandila told Zee News. "People have seen my performance in last two seasons of the IPL. I am clean and I trust the judiciary."

Chandila was one of 39 persons named by Delhi Police in the chargesheet they filed on the case on July 30. The players were charged under sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code - which deal with fraud, cheating and criminal conspiracy - and provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a special law passed by the Maharashtra provincial government to tackle organised crime syndicates and terrorism that contains far stricter provisions relating to bail.

He was "shocked" by the charges, Chandila said. "My family and I are in a state of shock that such charges are being levelled against me. I am a cricketer not a terrorist.

"My family has suffered a lot, and my brother was hospitalised the day I was arrested. But I have the support of my family. And soon, people will know the truth. I am innocent. I will make a comeback soon."

While Sreesanth and Chavan had applied for bail - which Delhi Police now wants cancelled - and were released from jail on June 11, Chandila had not applied for bail before.