New Delhi, May 20
IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals today suspended the contract of its three players — S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — arrested on charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing season besides filing an FIR against the three.

“Based on the information provided by the authorities, the contracts of all three players have been suspended pending inquiry,” Rajasthan Royals chairman Ranjit Barthakur said in a statement in Jaipur.

“We also filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against the three players earlier today,” he added.

“The complaint from Rajasthan Royals says the three players played an unfair game. The team says the three players have violated their contracts. We are examining these details,” said a senior Delhi Police officer.

BCCI’s anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani, who has been asked to head the probe by the cricketing body, held a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and other top officials and offered help.

Police sources said Ranji player Babu Rao Yadav, a member of the Railways team, was picked up for questioning from Delhi earlier in the day. “He is being questioned. He had allegedly arranged a meeting with Chandila and bookie Sunil Bhatia.

“Yadav figured in the tapped conversations. He will be arrested if we find his involvement,” a senior police officer said. Investigators said they did not have the recorded transcripts of Sreesanth. They said they might need his further custody to gather more evidence in the case.

Seventeen persons - three IPL players, two former players and 12 bookies-cum-fixers - have so far been arrested in connection with the spot-fixing case.

The IPL today stepped up security for the four remaining teams in the cash-rich T20 league by attaching an officer from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) with each team.

“The security deployment for the team has been expanded, again in close consultation with the BCCI. The franchise is in contact with the police authorities in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai for providing any cooperation/information that they may require,” Barthakur added.

Rajasthan said the franchise had “initiated” additional internal measures.

“We have initiated additional internal measures all developed with the support of players at their weekend regroup in Jaipur.

“The franchise has been hit very hard across the board, and we have executed the strongest possible course of action in keeping with our zero-tolerance approach to these terrible actions. As stated earlier, we will protect the good, as well as seek punishment for the bad,” Barthakur said.

Besides Rajasthan Royals, the Delhi Police has asked people cheated in the case to lodge their complaints. Two persons from Chandigarh and Mumbai have lodged their complaints with the Delhi police. Investigators will make them prosecution witnesses in the case.

(With agency inputs)