Chopra examination gives no fresh lead

By Our Sports Reporter

CHENNAI, DEC. 12.Off-spinner Nikhil Chopra deposed before the Board of Control for Cricket in India anti-corruption commissioner, Mr. K. Madhavan, in a hotel here today.

Speaking to the media after examining Chopra for more than two hours, Mr. Madhavan said the cricketer appeared relaxed. ``Probably he felt that he would get justice.''

The player gave him some documents and he had asked some ``fresh questions.'' His report on Chopra would be presented to the BCCI ``extremely soon.'' Chopra, in a brief encounter with the media, said he was confident that his name would be cleared.

Mr. Madhavan said the meeting provided no fresh leads as far as the other players were concerned. ``If any new, relevant information crops up, I will definitely look into it.''

Due to prior commitments he would not be able to examine former captains Kapil Dev and Ajit Wadekar before December 30, he said but expressed the hope that the job entrusted to him would be completed before January 31.

Mr. Madhavan said betting on sports could not be stopped. It was even legal in some countries. He was, however,

optimistic that `fixing' could definitely be curtailed following the BCCI's strong response. ``Merit and luck'' would once again become the all-important factors in determining results.

Mr. Madhavan admitted that in an inquiry of this nature it was not always possible to nail all guilty cricketers. ``If only one or two get caught, it does not mean all the others are clean. There is always a grey area in such investigations.'' However, his investigation was complete and thorough, leaving no room for doubt.

Observing that the episode left him sad, Mr. Madhavan said the choice was between ``What I felt as a human being and an Indian, and what I was compelled to do as the BCCI commissioner.'' Naturally, duty came first.

Hinting at Ajay Jadeja, Mr. Madhavan said he was pained to see a youngster, who had a lot of cricket ahead of him, getting misdirected under certain circumstances. His feelings were similar to those of a father on seeing his son lose his way.

Mr. Madhavan, however, would not accept the plea that the players fell into the trap due to ignorance. ``Not ignorance. Environment, circumstances, desires, opportunities and a love for money.''

Mr. Madhavan denied that any pressure was put on him during the investigation.

Clarifying on Manoj Prabhakar's statement, on a television channel, that he had told Mr. Madhavan about a BCCI member having introduced him to a bookie, the former CBI Joint Director said, ``in his 11-page statement which was recorded by me on November 11, 2000, and signed by him, he did not mention about any such member of the BCCI. He did not also verbally communicate any such name to me. He only mentioned that a person by name Mr. Prakash Kelkar, who according to Manoj Prabhakar was of the BCCI, Mumbai, had introduced him in 1994 to a person known as `Marshall'. I later discovered that Mr. Prakash Kelkar was not from the BCCI, but was a member of the Mumbai Cricket Association.''

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