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Prashant Vaidya tells CBI 'I know nothing'

Former India cricketer Prashant Vaidya, who appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation this afternoon, refused to confirm that it was Kapil Dev who had offered Manoj Prabhakar Rs 2.5 million to under perform in a match against Pakistan in the 1996 Singer Cup tournament.

"I have told the CBI that I know nothing about the so-called incident. I told them that I am not aware of any such offer that was made by Kapil Dev to Manoj Prabhakar," he told journalists waiting outside the CBI headquarters in Lodhi Complex.

Vaidya arrived at the CBI office 45 minutes late. He was scheduled to arrive at 11.30 in the morning, but was delayed because of heavy traffic. He looked relaxed both before and after his meeting with officials of the investigating team.

He lashed out at Prabhakar for recording a private conversation he had with him when he (Prabhakar) visited him. "This is not done," he quipped, adding he wasn't even aware why Prabhakar had named him as a witness when he knew nothing about the incident.

So, would he sue Prabhakar for misinformation? "He should not have done what he did in the first place," he said.

Meanwhile, the CBI unit - - headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Virk - - which investigates special crimes, continued its search for Mukesh Gupta, the man who former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje said was introduced to him by Mohammad Azharuddin during the South African team's tour to India in December 1996. Gupta had allegedly paid $80,000 to Cronje on two occasions for throwing matches.

Journalists who visited Gupta's massive house in Defence Colony (C-530) were refused permission to enter inside. His father too refused to divulge anything about his son. "We have spent everything we had to invest in business. Now we have made it big and everyone is concerned. We are paying income tax. I know what my son does, but I am under no obligation to the CBI to tell all that," he told journalists.

Said a neighbour: "He shifted here in 1995. It took more than a year to construct this house. Look at the house; only six people live in this house which has as many as 16 rooms in three-and-a-half stories. This massive 30-odd feet pillar gives away the kind of money he has made in a short time. He looked a normal kind of person. He has a son and daughter. He has been to Singapore once or twice, but I never knew he is into match-fixing."

In fact, the day the story broke out, the most harassed person in Defence Colony was India spinner Nikhil Chopra, who lives right across Gupta's alleged residence. Nikhil's brother told journalists, "Nikhil is sick of the whole thing, particularly answering journalists' queries."

A senior editor of a Hindi cricket magazine recounted how 'MK' had visited the magazine office ten years back and asked for a press card. "He asked me to issue him a press card to visit the West Indies. We did not give him the card but someone else did. He had then left a telephone number, which has turned out to be his old residence in Ballimaran, in Chandni Chowk. We called that number and were given the same address which the CBI has visited," said the editor.

S M Khan, spokesman for the CBI, denied that Gupta had left for Singapore immediately after Cronje's testimony to the King Commission. "No, Gupta has not left the country. We have asked the various agencies to keep a tab on him and inform the CBI if he makes any move to leave the country. If he left for Nepal then we don't know because he can go under any name. But he certainly hasn't gone to any other place."

The Betting Scandal: The full story