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No complaint against Indians: Dhindsa

The government today said it would take recourse to all legal measures to eliminate the menace of match-fixing in cricket, though it did not have any specific complaint against particular Indian cricketers or officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India at this stage.

Placing a copy of the report of Justice Y V Chandrachud committee in Parliament, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports S S Dhindsa said the government would not hesistate to order detailed investigations by any agency, depending upon the gravity of the charges and allegations.

He said other than the specific FIR registered by Delhi police against sacked South African skipper Hansie Cronje and others (with regard to last month's one-day series between India and the Proteas), the government did not have any specific complaint against particular Indian cricketers or office-bearers of the BCCI.

''Nevertheless, government will in all seriousness initiate necessary legal measures against practices of match-fixing on the basis of specific complaints that may be received, after appropriate inquiry and necessary investigation,'' he said in a statement. ''The government will take recourse to all legal measures to ensure that this menace is not only curbed but eliminated,'' it added.

The minister assured ''adequate protection'' to persons who have specific information regarding malpractices and come forward with such information.

Mr Dhindsa said he had called BCCI office-bearers and other distinguished cricketers and sports administrators for a meeting on April 27 to discuss the current state of affairs in cricket and measures that need to be adopted to achieve higher standards in the game. ''In this regard, the cricketing fraternity also has a critical role to play which it must discharge,'' he said.

He said that alarmed by the recent revelations regarding match-fixing during the India-South Africa one-day series, the government was keeping a watch on the developments in the case on a regular basis. ''This investigation will require the support of the persons and agencies concerned,'' he said, adding the BCCI had assured to extend complete cooperation so that the culprits could be brought to light.

''The case is under investigation and the full dimension of this problem will only be apparent once the detailed investigation gets completed,'' the minister said.

UNI