Police gives Batohi transcripts of Cronje's tapes

Shamila Batohi, chief prosecutor of the Justice Edwin King Commission, had a 90-minute meeting with top officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation led by Joint Director R N Savani on the Hansie Cronje case.

Batohi turned up 20 minutes before time and went straight to the third floor of the CBI headquarters where she met Director K Raghavan before going into intensive discussions with Savani and his officers.

"I have had a fruitful meeting with the CBI officials. We have asked them for information relating to the Hansie Cronje case. I am not going to discuss the details of our discussions because I am under oath from the King Commission not to reveal anything about the investigations," Batohi told reporters later.

She said that even before she arrived in Delhi she knew the police was not going to hand over the Cronje tapes to her. "When I came here to get the tapes, I knew I would not get the tapes at all. I can understand the legal hurdles that the Delhi police has to face in this respect. Likewise I told them about our difficulties in giving them voice samples of Hansie Cronje. So far my trip has been successful. I have a series of meetings lined up for tomorrow and the day after. I am leaving India on Friday," she said.

She confirmed that during the discussion the names of various bookies and their roles came up for discussion, but refused to say whether that included the name of Mukesh Gupta, who was introduced to Cronje by Mohammad Azharuddin.

"There was an exchange of information on both sides. I think the only way to sort out this matter is to sit down and cooperate with each other. And that is what we have been doing. We have got the transcripts of Hansie Cronje's alleged conversation with Sanjeev Chawla and we have put in our request for the release of the tapes to us. I must add here that we have been in touch with the Delhi police and the CBI throughout the hearing of the King Commission in South Africa," she said.

Before rushing to her car, Batohi denied any plans to also visit Pakistan.

Savani later confirmed that Batohi had sought some information on the Cronje case, which was given to her. "As far as the CBI is concerned we are only investigating the Indian angle and not seeking the custody of Hansie Cronje as is being reported," Savani told rediff.com

According to Savani, the meeting was fixed at Batohi's request "because there was nothing that we were going to gain from the meeting". But he too refused to say whether any specific names were discussed during the meeting.

Savani said his team's report on the match-fixing scandal was almost ready and would be handed over to the director in the next couple of days. "It is a bulky report and we are in the process of giving it the final touches. I will not be able to tell you the exact date when it will be released," he said.

He confirmed that the CBI was seeking legal opinion on the report to find out if the preliminary inquiry can be converted into a first information report. "We have been working on it for the last four months and have done a thorough job. We have interviewed over 200 people in the course of the investigations. This includes players and bookies. We have even sent a request to Manoj Prabhakar to undergo a lie-detector test 15 days back. So far we have not heard from him," he said.

After she had met the CBI officials, Batohi had another round of discussions with top officers of the crime branch of the Delhi police. The meeting lasted an hour.

"This was yet another meeting between her and the Delhi police officers. So far we have met thrice and we may meet again tomorrow," Dr K K Paul, joint commissioner of police (crime), told rediff.com

Batohi also confirmed the meeting, but refused to discuss the details.

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Mail Cricket Editor