Minister reiterates stand on match fixing

The Minister of State for Sports Shaikh Shanawaz Hussain on Saturday made it clear that if any cricketer was found involved in betting he will not be allowed to go scot free. The Minister, who is here to hold a meeting with the coaches of the Sports Authority of India said, "The Government will go forward with the aim of finding out the real truth behind the allegations."

Reacting to the statement made by the former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin who had alleged persecution because he belonged to the minority community, Hussain said, "when he made that comment on `minority' I talked to him. He admitted his mistake and apologized to me. He also stated that he would not repeat the mistake again. So as far as I am concerned the matter is closed. I would not like to comment on it."

Meanwhile, Calcutta Police have discovered that the three bookies arrested here a few days back have connections with some of their counterparts in Mumbai. The three namely Raju, Anjan and Pawan Saraf have confirmed after interrogation that they operated though another bookie called `Sovan' in Mumbai. However, other than his cell phone number, the three do not have any idea of Sovan's whereabouts. A senior member of the detective department said, "we have not been able to pursue the case with the speed that we would have liked to as the Calcutta Municipal Corporation has become our prime concern now. However, once the results are out we will be sending a team to Mumbai to work jointly with the police authorities there to solve this case. As of now, the three have been remanded to police custody till June 30."