His wife’s inquisitive query over suddenly acquiring excessive money could well nail Ajit Chandila, one of the accused in the spot-fixing case.
Call transcripts, held by the Special Cell of the Delhi police, reveal that Chandila rebuked his wife for questioning him about money matters. Chandila allegedly received Rs 40 lakh for conceding 14 runs in Rajasthan Royals’ match against Pune Warriors on May 5 in Jaipur.
“You are sending a lot of money home these days. Where do you get this money from?” Chandila’s wife asked him over the phone during the ongoing IPL 6 season, according to police sources.
“Don’t talk about all this over the phone,” Chandila apparently told his wife.
Investigating officers say this piece of evidence will also help them trace the money and reach others, who acted as couriers on behalf of bookies and players. Transcripts of his calls to Chavan on May 15 also point to the primary role Chandila played in spot fixing.
“I have given them (bookies) assurance. It will be done. Should I say yes?” Chandila asked Chavan, according to the police. When Chavan replied in the affirmative, Chandila said, “I have told them 60 (lakh) for one over.”
The intercepted phone calls and transcripts between bookies, players and members of their family have played a key role in exposing the sordid state of the IPL, the police claim. The Delhi police have confirmed that some of the accused were with women when arrested, and that bookies lured the players by offering them ‘escort’ services.
The call records and transcripts must now be cross-verified by forensic voice tests before they can be used as evidence in a court of law. In a forensic voice test, the player’s voice samples will be matched against the voice on the intercepted calls to determine it belongs to the same person.
“The call records have to be examined scientifically to prove guilt of the arrestees in the court,” said KK Paul, former Delhi police commissioner, who investigated the 1999 cricket betting racket, involving former South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje.
