Efforts on to produce Chawla in SA — Report

Chawla, who owns a readymade garment shop at the Oxford Circus here, has gone underground ever since the match-fixing episode surfaced and the Indian High Commsission here has revoked the passport issued to him.

Chawla, through his lawyer has consistenly denied any involvement and will contest any extradition.

“He is likely to go to Cape Town only if he feels reassured that it is not en route to Delhi,” the daily said.

A two-member CBI team was here recently in its effort to track down Chawla but returned to Delhi without much success.

An interim report of the findings of the King Commission so far was submitted by Judge Edwin King to the South African President Thabo Mbeki. The commission has often emphasised that there is a long way to go and Chawla is seen as a key figure.

Cronje, during his evidence before the commission in June, admitted meeting Chawla just before the South African tour of India, which began in February this year.

Cronje also admitted to having accepted money from him but denied he ever threw any match.

Cronje claimed to have met Chawla in India also when, he said, the latter gave him his mobile phone.

Delhi Police had taped this mobile phone which led to the unravelling of the match-fixing saga.

Meanwhile, the lead lawyer for the King Commission, Shamila Batohi and one of the investigators Geoff Edwards, are to visit India to seek the tapes after their repeated requests to send the tapes to South Africa were declined by the Indian authorities.

Batohi’s attempts to question Cronje on the information in the tapes was successfully objected to by Cronje’s lawyers who claimed the authenticity of the tapes had not been established.

South African investigators desperately need the tapes to get to the bottom of the match-fixing case or to determine whether Cronje is telling them the truth. All they have now are a few pages of transcripts released by Delhi Police.

South Africans shrug off match-fixing report

BRISBANE: The South African cricket team slipped into Brisbane on Saturday unconcerned over an interim report into the country’s match-fixing scandal.

Captain Shaun Pollock, speaking at Brisbane airport, ahead of next week’s One-Day series against Australia, said the morale of the team was unlikely to be affected by the findings of the report.

“Not at all, there’s been a cloud hanging over our head for the last few months ever since the story broke,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s going to reveal anything new so the chaps aren’t worried about it at all.”

Judge Edwin King, who heads the commission inquiry into match-fixing, handed the South African government his report on Friday but said it did not contain final recommendations.

The inquiry has centred on admissions disgraced South African cricket captain, Hansie Cronje accepted bribes of more than $100,000 from bookies since 1996.

Two other South African players, Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams have also admitted to being offered money by Cronje to play below their best in matches against India this year.

The United Cricket Board of South Africa has scheduled a disciplinary hearing for the three players in Johannesburg on August 19.