Bookie Sanjeev Chawla arrested by Scotland Yard in London

Bookie Sanjeev Chawla arrested by Scotland Yard in London
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

LONDON, JANUARY 14: The Scotland Yard has arrested alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla in North London. The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the match-fixing scandal which has rocked cricket for long.

Chawla, 33, who runs a clothing business in Central London, was arrested at his home in Hendon. He was driven to a police station in Central London and bailed to return later this month, media reports said here today.

The arrest of Chawla, who was absconding after his passport was revoked by the Indian government, follows a letter rogatory issued by Delhi police.

Chawla has been accused of offering money to two England players to underperform in the drawn third test match against New Zealand at Old Trafford in August 1999.

The investigations by Scotland Yard have been based on the statements of former England all-rounder Chris Lewis who alleged that Chawla, through his Indian associate who is a sports promoter, had tried to bribe former England captain Alec Stewart and speedster Alan Mullaly to underperform in the said match.

An official of Scotland Yard told The Observer that Lewis claimed to have been told by Chawla's associate that œ 300,000 in cash was available for the England team to perform in a certain way and ``he (Lewis) should try to get Alec Stewart and Alan Mullaly on board as a starting point, and with a view to doing business in the future''.

However, the official said Scotland Yard was convinced that the two players had done nothing wrong and were not under investigation.

``We would stress that we are absolutely satisfied that both these players never took a bribe of any kind, and we would add that at no time have they been under investigation by us,'' he said.