Lie detector test for Prabhakar likely

Onkar Singh in Delhi

The Central Bureau of Investigation seems to have reached a dead end in the match-fixing case. It is believed that none the players they had summoned confirmed the bribery charges levelled by Manoj Prabhakar against former India cricket captain Kapil Dev.

Prabhakar had alleged that Kapil Dev had offered him Rs 2.5 million to under perform in a match against Pakistan in the Singer Cup tournament in 1994 in Sri Lanka. He said some players who were in the team then as also a couple of former players were aware of the offer.

In an interview with rediff.com, CBI joint director, investigations, R N Savani, disclosed that the agency is now toying with the idea of asking Prabhakar to undergo a lie detector test.

"This might become necessary as all those who had been summoned as witnesses at the instance of Prabhakar have refused to testify in his favour. We have now examined Kapil Dev as well and there is no one else who can tell us more," he said.

But this is only a preliminary investigation. How can you ask Prabhakar to undergo a lie detector test unless you convert it into a case and register the same?

"We have been on the job since May this year and now we want to know if there is any truth in these allegations or someone has sent the CBI on a wild goose chase. There is no way we can find this out unless we ask Prabhakar to undergo a lie detector test," Savani explained.

Asked if the agency is satisfied with their meeting with Kapil Dev, Savani said the former captain answered all the questions fired at him.

"He said what he had to tell us. We are satisfied with his answers. We had asked him to come and he came. We had about two hours with him. Now we can expedite the report. But it will be submitted to the government only at the end of this month," he stressed.

Meanwhile, CBI officials admitted that they had indeed visited Bombay on September 6 and met former India captain Sachin Tendulkar.

Asked why the CBI went to meet him when everyone else was summoned to the agency's headquarters in Delhi, an official said: "There is a difference. Those who we called to Delhi were either witness to something or had allegations against them. Since there was no allegation against Sachin Tendulkar, therefore, we felt that it would be proper for us to call on him instead of he coming to us. The meeting took place at our initiative.

"We had an hour-and-a-half-long meeting with him. As captain of the Indian team he knew many things and he could explain the same to us. Like who visited the dressing room? Were the outsiders allowed into the dressing room? We were satisfied with the meeting. But I am not going to tell you what Kapil or Sachin told us. We will make this part of our report and submit the same to the Minister of Sports," he added.

Manoj Prabhakar refused to either confirm or deny that he has been asked to undergo a lie detector test by the investigating agency. But sources close to the former all-rounder said he was upset to see Kapil Dev coming out the CBI office with a broad grin on his face.

"Give me a day, I will meet the media and explain my position," Prabhakar told rediff.com.

Mail Cricket Editor