By IANS
New Delhi : Reviving an almost moribund case, Delhi Police Wednesday summoned former South African spinner Nicky Boje, currently in India playing for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), asking him if he could throw more light on the 2000 match-fixing scandal prised open by the city’s crime branch.
“We have summoned the cricketer for questioning for his role in the match-fixing scandal here. Though no date has been fixed on when he should appear before the investigating team, he has been asked to come at the earliest,” Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.
“Boje was served notice under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (committing affray),” Bhagat told IANS.
For the past two weeks, Boje has been playing a Tenwty20 tournament organised by ICL in Panchukla, Haryana.
Last year, police had questioned Herschelle Gibbs, another South African player, during the ICC Champions Trophy here for his alleged involvement in the match fixing case.
However, considering that evidence against Gibbs was wanting as the main accused, former South African skipper Hansie Cronje, died in a plane crash five years ago, the police had no option but to let him off.
Senior police officials told IANS that they had to go through the motions of interrogating the left arm spinner.
Gibbs was questioned after diplomatic immunity was promised to him. Boje, despite being included in the squad, had backed out of the tour then.
Gibbs is one of the accused in the first information report (FIR) No 111 registered in April 2000 under charges of cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy along with the late Cronje, Boje, Pieter Strydom and Henry Williams.
Cronje, who admitted involvement to match fixing, was served with a life ban by the King’s Commission before he died in 2002.
Sanjeev Chawla, the bookie who offered money to Cronje to under-perform, remains in hiding in London for the last six years and has refused to appear before the police despite repeated summons.
Similarly, Kishen Kumar and Rajesh Kalra, who were also charged, are out on bail.
The 32-year-old Gibbs, who has played 79 Tests, had admitted accepting money from Cronje to score fewer than 20 runs against India in a one-dayer during their 2000 March-April tour.
However, seven years after Delhi Police prised open the can of match fixing on the basis of tapped telephone transcripts, they have largely failed to make headway in the investigation. Still, Delhi Police have refused to close the case that has been hanging fire all these years.