WI player contacted bookie from Nagpur: police

Nagpur, Feb 7 (UNI) A West Indian player had contacted a bookie in New Delhi by telephone during the One-Day International (ODI) match, which they played against India in Nagpur last month, a top police official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Amitesh Kumar said the player, Marion Samuels, had called Mukesh Kochar, allegedly a bookie based in Delhi, by telephone from his hotel room in Nagpur after the team arrived here for the first match of the series.

Samuels passed on the information about the composition of the team and who was likely to take the field on January 21, the day of the match, he said, adding that however, the police have been unable to establish if there was any match-fixing in Nagpur.

This was in violation of Rule 3 of the Code of Conduct of the International Cricket Council (ICC), he added.

The bookie allegedly has connections with the underworld, he said.

''We understand that Kochar is a known bookie. We also understand that he has connections with the underworld,'' the DCP said.

The police initiated an investigation on the basis of certain ''confidential information'' that it had received with regard to the match that was played here, Mr Kumar said, but did not reveal what the information was.

The investigations concluded today and a report has been sent to ICC as well as the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), he said.

However, no communication had been sent to Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), which hosted the match here on January 21, Mr Kumar added.

Meanwhile, BCCI vice president and VCA president Shashank Manohar has denied knowledge about any communication from Nagpur police.

The match-fixing came under the purview of the ICC and not that of BCCI or VCA, he said. If the BCCI or the VCA received any communication from the police about match fixing, it would be forwarded to the ICC, Mr Manohar said, adding, the ICC also deputes an official at every international match to ensure that there was no match-fixing.

UNI