Spot-fixing: More players, IPL matches under scanner

The role of more players whose names cropped up during interrogation of the arrested cricketers and bookies in the IPL spot-fixing scandal could be probed, Delhi police said today, as six bookies were held in Tamil Nadu in connection with another IPL betting racket. Police claimed that Indian pacer Sreesanth and Ankit Chavan—two of the three arrested Rajasthan Royal(RR) players—have “confessed” to the spot-fixing charge but the lawyers of the two cricketers denied their involvement. Delhi Police is also likely to probe some more IPL matches in the current season even as Sreesanth, Chavan and Ajit Chandila—also a RR player—along with 11 other arrested bookies were subjected to interrogation by its Special Cell.

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BCCI calls emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss issue

Rattled by the sensational spot-fixing scandal, the BCCI has called an Emergency Working Committee meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue amid indications that arrested Indian speedster S Sreesanth and his two Rajasthan Royals team-mates would be handed life bans if found guilty. A day after the arrest of Sreesanth and his two team-mates Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila on charges of spot-fixing, the BCCI promised “strongest possible action” against those found guilty in the scandal that has thrown the high-profile league into one of the biggest crisis till date. “The Working Committee will discuss, among other things, the fallout of the spot-fixing controversy in the ongoing IPL, in which three players have been arrested by the Delhi Police,” the BCCI said in a statement.

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Chennai police bust IPL betting racket; arrest 6 bookies

A day after three Rajasthan Royal cricketers were arrested in the spot-fixing scandal, Tamil Nadu Police today claimed to have busted a betting racket relating to IPL matches with the arrest of six bookies here and recovered Rs.14 lakh in cash. The suspected mastermind was operating from Delhi, Crime Branch-CID SPs Perumal and S Rajeswari said, adding, “It is just betting as of now... (a case of) cheating the public.” The probe so far has not suggested any match-fixing angle, they said. The arrests followed searches at 13 locations in the city based on a tip-off, they told a packed press conference here. It came close on the heels of Delhi police nabbing three IPL players including pacer Sreesanth and 11 bookies for alleged spot fixing. Today’s arrests of six bookies, all hailing from Chennai, came after investigations showed that they were being given instructions from someone “supervising them” from Delhi and call records had been traced to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, Rajeswari said

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Liyaqat Shah granted bail by Delhi court

Suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah was today granted bail by a Delhi court which said the NIA’s investigation “confirms” that there is no substantial linkage regarding his involvement in the conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in the national capital. “No substantial evidence has come up against the present petitioner till date and the prosecution/NIA has failed to make out a prima facie case against the present petitioner/ accused till date,” District Judge I S Mehta said. “Further, the NIA investigation also confirms the same that there is no substantial linking against the petitioner/ accused being involved in conspiracy to commit terrorist attack on vital installations in Delhi till date,” he said. While Delhi police had claimed that with Liyaqat’s arrest they had foiled a ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack here ahead of Holi, the J-K Police insisted that he was one of those who had ex-filtrated in 1990s and returned to India to surrender under the state’s rehabilitation po

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Rapper Honey Singh booked for singing vulgar songs

With the Punjab and Haryana High Court coming down heavily on the lewd lyrics of songs sung by singer-rapper Honey Singh, the Punjab Police today booked him for singing vulgar songs in public. A case was registered against the singer under provisions of Section 294 (singing, reciting or uttering any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) of the Indian Penal Code in Punjab’s Nawanshahr town, some 80 km from here, a police official said. “We have registered a case against singer Honey Singh for his vulgar songs following the high court directions,” Superintendent of Police S.S. Bhangoo told IANS over phone from Nawanshahr. The police officer was, however, evasive when asked as to why a case was not registered against the singer when a complaint against him was filed by an NGO earlier this year.

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Boy dies after teacher bangs his head against wall

A class III student has died after his teacher allegedly banged his head against a wall for playing with another student in the classroom, prompting the authorities to order an inquiry and arrest the lady teacher. The teacher, Champa Mondal, of the Nirdheshkhali Shishu Shiksha Kendra in South 24 Parganas district allegedly banged the head of nine-year-old Bapi Joardar as punishment for playing with his bag with another student on April 15, police sources said. The boy was grieviousy injured and was rushed by his parents to a hospital in Canning, the district headquarters, from where he has referred the same night to the National Medical College and Hospital at Park Circus in Kolkata, the sources said.

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Social security cover for workers on anvil: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government was at an advance stage of considering a universal social security cover for workers while acknowledging that there could be “no disagreement” on issues raised by trade unions during the February general strike. Noting that the coverage would extend to workers in both the organised and unorganised sectors, he said the government was also considering creation of a national social security fund, fixing a national floor-level minimum wage and a minimum pension of Rs 1000 per month under Employees’ Pension Scheme. “The recent two-day strike by trade unions focused on a number of issues relating to the welfare not only of the working classes but also the people at large.

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Two held in 14-year-old Graham Staines murder case

Nearly 14 years after Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death by a mob in Odisha, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today arrested two absconding accused in the case. A CBI team arrested Ghanashyam Mohant, 35, and Ranjan Mohant, 38, from their villages Gayalmunda and Bhalughera in Keonjhar district, a senior district police official, who assisted in the arrest, told IANS. Staines and his two sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, were burnt to death Jan 22, 1999, while they were sleeping in their station wagon in front of a church at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar, about 400 km from here. The incident triggered a global outrage. While the main accused Dara Singh and his accomplice Mahendra Hembram were sentenced to life imprisonment, 11 others were acquitted by a court.

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