Dhindsa furious over leak, BCCI guarded in reply

The reported leak of the interim report on match-fixing by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has created a furore. In an interview to Aaj Tak on Saturday, Union Sports Minister SS Dhindsa said he would request the Home Ministry to inquire into how the contents of the report reached the media.

Talking to the press, Dhindsa said that he was surprised when he saw the names of Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Sharma mentioned in media reports. "Naturally I was taken aback when I read the reports. I was not happy about the way the report was leaked to some favourite journalists by the CBI", he said.

Dhindsa also refused to comment on the authenticity of the report. "How can I tell you whether it is correct or not? I do not even know what the report contains. I had told the CBI that they should hand over the report to us. Then I will study the report and take a legal opinion. Eventually the report will be tabled in Parliament because the probe was ordered only after some members had demanded for a CBI probe."

Asked if he was under pressure from any quarter, Dhindsa replied in the negative. "There was no pressure. I don't know what pressure is. I announced the probe because people love cricket and they wanted to know the truth. For more than four months the CBI has been on the job. They have prepared the report. Let them hand it over and I will decide the next course of action. Of course the report will be tabled in Parliament. Make no mistake about it", he said.

Questioning the media reports, Dhindsa asked "How do you know that this is the real report? There might be some portions which may not be true." When asked if former Indian captain Kapil Dev had met him, Dhindsa said Kapil had met him only once to request that the CBI expedite the report. "After that he never got in touch with me," the minister said.

When queried about the future course of action against those found guilty, The ministers reply was "My intention is not to send cricketers to jail because they have played for the country and done us proud". He added, "My purpose was to cleanse the game once and for all so that the people do not lose faith. I am sure the report will do the game a lot of good."

The former BCCI president IS Bindra, who was present during the minister's press meet, refused to comment on the names of players including that of former Delhi all rounder Manoj Prabhakar in the report. The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president said "Let me clarify that when I spoke to CNN I told the media what Manoj Prabhakar had told me. I am not against Kapil Dev. I am not against any particular player. I was against match-fixing. I have come to discuss the hosting of the national games by Punjab next year."

CBI spokesman SM Khan said that the agency was not aware how the report appeared in the media. "As far as the CBI is concerned, we have not submitted the report yet and have not made any report public. These reports are only speculative and not authentic", he said. Khan declined to comment on the two newspaper reports. AFP quotes him as saying "We will be submitting our report in the middle of next week to the sports ministry". He attributed the delay in handing over the papers to "legal whetting of the findings." Commenting on the four names reported by the newspapers, the official said: "These names have been in circulation in any case for some time now."

Meanwhile, the BCCI president AC Muthiah refused to comment on the reported leak. Talking to reporters in Chennai, Muthiah said on Saturday that he would react to the CBI report on match-fixing only after he officially received the report from the Union government.

Asked for his reaction, BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, who is in Sharjah with the Indian side, said "Once it is officially communicated, the Board will take action as per its recently formulated code of conduct which includes a life ban on players found guilty (of match-fixing). But first we will have to see what sort of charges are levelled against them by the investigating agency." He added, "The report should come as soon as possible to clear the cloud of suspicion and it will help the board to move forward. We will take appropriate action."