The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, September 9, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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Jadeja re-examined by CBI

NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (PTI) — The CBI is likely to submit its interim report on match-fixing to the Sports Ministry on September 29 after having questioned cricketing icon Kapil Dev and re-examined Ajay Jadeja.

Highly-placed sources in the agency said that an interim report for making players responsible towards the game would be submitted to Sports Minister S. S. Dhindsa.

The sources said the report was being given final touches by the sleuths of the Special Crime Branch and added that the meeting of CBI officials with the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was a step in that direction only.

They said the informal chat with Tendulkar was an effort to tie some loose ends for the report.

In a related development, sleuths of the Special Crime Branch examined Jadeja once again recently, the sources said, adding that some queries needed his answers, which he gave.

Meanwhile, Kapil Dev, who deposed before the agency yesterday, has again denied the charges of former allrounder Manoj Prabhakar that the former skipper had offered him a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to underperform against Pakistan in the Singer Cup in Sri Lanka in 1994.

The ace allrounder, who has been denying all charges levelled by Prabhakar, has also received implicit support from former team manager Ajit Wadekar, wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, batsman Navjot Sidhu and bowler Prashant Vaidya, named by Prabhakar as witnesses to a commotion between him and Kapil Dev over the alleged bribe offer.

Besides Kapil Dev, the CBI has so far recorded statements of 15 persons, including BCCI president A. C. Muthiah, secretary Jaywant Lele, treasurer Kishore Rungta, Delhi and District Cricket Association sports secretary Sunil Dev, former BCCI president I. S. Bindra, Ajit Wadekar, cricketers Manoj Prabhakar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Navjot Sidhu, Nayan Mongia, Ajay Jadeja, Prashant Vaidya and Nikhil Chopra besides some alleged bookies including Mukesh Gupta.

Concern for Khalra man
From Our Correspondent

AMRITSAR, Sept 8 — The Khalra Mission Committee (KMC) today claimed that Amnesty International had taken notice of its press release dated September 7, 2000 about the arrest of Mr Rajiv Singh Randhawa, a human rights activist.

A document attached with a KMC press release on the letter head of Amnesty International says: “A key eyewitness to the ” disappearance of a human rights activist has been arrested in Amritsar, India. Rajiv Singh Randhawa was attempting to hand a petition to UK Home Secretary Jack Straw in front of the Golden Temple when the arrest took place on September 5. Amnesty International today expressed serious concern for his safety while in police custody.

Amnesty, according to the document, has appealed to Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, Mr Sarabjit Singh Director General of Police, Punjab and Minister for Home Affairs Mr L.K. Advani for an immediate review of the charges against Rajiv Singh Randhawa by a judicial body.

Meanwhile, the remand of Mr Rajeev Singh has been extended for another day following the case presentation in the court of Mr Justi