LONDON: Members of the Pakistani World Cup squad are no longer suspects in Bob Woolmer’s murder. Jamaica’s deputy police chief, Mark Shields, told Australia’s Herald Sun: “It’s fair to say they are now being treated as witnesses. I have no evidence to suggest it was anybody in the squad.”
Shields said police are hunting for three Pakistanis who hung around the team doing odd jobs. The three middle-aged men — Hamid Malik, Jundie Khan and Irfan Chaudary — were close to the players and were seen with them at press conferences and after games.
The three, who are believed to have left Jamaica after Woolmer’s death, were seen in the hotel with the players shortly before the murder. Malik, who is believed to live in England, carried a mobile phone with a British number. Jundie Khan is from Florida and Irfan Chaudary, a medical technician, came from New York. Shields said: “We are looking for them to eliminate them from our inquiries.”
A fourth Pakistani, Tariq Malik who lives in Jamaica and runs a car dealership near the hotel, was also linked to the team as he drove the players around the island and brought them halal food. He, however, is not missing.
According to The Times of London, police are anxious to speak to the three because of the ready access they had to the team before Woolmer's death, and are not singling them out for special attention. Shields, meanwhile, appealed for restraint from international media teams that have descended on Kingston since Woolmer's death was ruled to be murder, describing speculation as "very upsetting" for Woolmer's family in Cape Town.
He also refused to set a time frame for solving the case. While bits and pieces of Woolmer's luggage were deposited in the hotel storehouse on Monday, the police search that focussed on the hard drive of Woolmer's laptop has not thrown up any reference to match-fixing.
