CBI's Report on Cricket Match Fixing and Related Malpractices (Section 1)
In response to the request from Ministry of Sports regarding an inquiry into match fixing and related malpractices in Indian Cricket, vide DO No
02-Nov-2000
GENERAL
(a) GENESIS:
In response to the request from Ministry of Sports regarding an
inquiry into match fixing and related malpractices in Indian Cricket,
vide DO No. F-23-8/2000-SP.III from Shri N.N. Khanna, Secretary,
Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, CBI registered a
Preliminary Enquiry No. 2/S/2000 on 2.5.2000. The scope of the PE is
broadly limited to the letter of Shri N.N. Khanna in which there is a
general mention of various allegations as they had appeared in the
media as well as issues raised during a debate in both the Houses of
Parliament. The Ministry's letter further requests the CBI to collect
and evaluate various news-items and information published in both the
print and electronic media and conduct a comprehensive enquiry into
the allegations of match fixing and related malpractices connected
with the game of cricket.
(b) PARAMETERS:
After registering the PE, CBI undertook an exercise to fix certain
parameters, since the enquiry was open-ended without setting for
itself any specific time-frame for which the probe was to be conducted
or specific allegations or names which had to be looked into or
specific areas which had to be enquired into. In this connection it
was decided that first of all a broad enquiry was to be made to
ascertain whether match fixing and other malpractices connected with
the game of cricket existed. Accordingly, the following corner-stones
were fixed as primary focal points of this enquiry:
(1) to identify the betting syndicates operating in India and examine
their activities;
(2) to unravel the linkages of cricket players or their intermediaries
with these syndicates and their roles in the alleged malpractices; and
(3) to examine the role and functions of BCCI so as to evaluate
whether it could have prevented the alleged malpractices.
(c) MECHANICS USED:
(i) All available overt and covert information about players, explayers, bookies and middlemen whose names had figured in the various
media reports and through sources developed by CBI was shortlisted and
all relevant facts regarding them including details of property,
details of business associates, etc. collected.
(ii) The general public were requested to come forth with information,
if any, regarding match fixing, etc. through appeals published and
broadcast in the print and electronic media.
(iii) An intensive exercise was conducted to analyse telephone and
mobile phone printouts to establish a player-bookie nexus, if any. In
this exercise, thousands of pages of mobile phones and land line
printouts including those of players, their relatives, associates, and
bookies, etc. were analysed through a specially designed computer
software. Details of telephone calls made by cricket players from
their hotel rooms during recent matches were also analysed.
(iv) The tapes which were allegedly shot clandestinely by Tehelka.Com
along with Manoj Prabhakar were also studied.
(v) After collecting relevant material/evidence as listed above,
individual players, past and present, officials and bookies were
examined and they were confronted with evidence at hand which the CBI
had gathered during its enquiry.
(d) MATCH FIXING: AN INTERPRETATION OF THE TERMINOLOGY -
'Match Fixing' in this enquiry is used as an omnibus phrase to denote
the following:
(i) instances where an individual player or group of players received
money individually/collectively to underperform;
(ii) instances where a player placed bets in matches in which he
played that would naturally undermine his performance;
(iii) instances where players passed on information to a betting
syndicate about team composition, probable result, pitch condition,
weather, etc.,
(iv) instances where groundsmen were given money to prepare a pitch in
a way which suited the betting syndicate; and
(v) instances of current and ex-players being used by bookies to gain
access to Indian and foreign players to influence their performance
for a monetary consideration.