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NEWS India-West Indies ODI Series 2007>No FIR against Samuels by Nagpur Police 09th Feb 2007 09.07 IST By Agencies No FIR has been lodged against West Indian cricketer Marlon Samuels due to lack of sufficient evidence of match-fixing activity. The police also said that it did not have any information that any other West Indian cricketer had links with the bookie.
"On January 19 and 20, that person had called Room no 206 (where Samuels was staying) of Pride Hotel four times and the calls were made at an unusual time -- after 11.30 pm," he said. "During the conversations, bowling order (of West Indies team) was discussed. The caller presumed that he knew that West Indies is going to bowl. And Samuels said he would come as first change bowler," he said. Yadav said the fact that Samuels stayed back in Mumbai even after West Indies team's departure builds the suspicion against the player. "After the West Indies team's departure, he stayed back for a few days in Mumbai. Maybe they (Samuels and Kochar) were in contact during that time," he said. Yadav said from the tapped conversation over phones, his team did not find anything that suggested monetary transactions between the two. Yadav said since they did not have enough evidence of criminal activities, they could not file an FIR against the Caribbean. "We could not register a case as we had not sufficient evidence. But, there are enough indications of betting," he said. Yadav said he informed the BCCI and the ICC about the incident as he felt there was a violation of ICC code of conduct. Samuels received a number of calls from bookie Mukesh Kumar Kochar on the landline phone of a Nagpur hotel where the visiting team was put up for the first ODI on January 21, according to police. "As per our findings, the conversation between Samuels and Kochar was more than once and he was willing to disclose bowling details and other plans of the West Indies against India," Yadav has written in a letter to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Shashank Manohar. "Our sources indicate the phone used in the conversation did not belong to Kochar but was that of one Mukesh Kumar," he said in the letter. The police had on January 30 alerted Manohar, who is also President of Vidarbha Cricket Association, the organizers of the ODI in Nagpur, about the conversation between the West Indian all-rounder and the bookie. "As per the ICC code of conduct for players and officials, they are restrained from conversations with bookies. And in case such things happen, they are suppose to inform the relevant team manager," Yadav said, quoting rule C-3 of the International Cricket Council. "We would like to bring to your notice that the conversation was a gross violation of the ICC code of conduct," the Commissioner said in the letter. "Necessary action may be taken against the player concerned and accordingly the city police be intimated," Yadav said. Samuels was allotted room no 206 in Hotel Pride located near the airport. Manohar, who had attended the working committee meeting of the BCCI in Delhi yesterday, was not available for comment. A copy of the letter was marked for N S Virk, Regional Manager of anti-corruption and security Cell of the ICC. Meanwhile, police sources said the bookie operated both from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Delhi, but during the conversation with Samuels, Kochar, was in the national capital and used a mobile phone. The possibility of a huge cricket-betting racket can't be ruled out, the sources said. Samuels had scored 40 runs off 60 deliveries with three fours and a six in the high scoring match. India had won the Nagpur ODI by 14 runs. A match fixing scandal broke out in 2000 involving then South African skipper Hansie Cronje and some Indian players were also allegedly involved in the fixing. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-West Indies ODI Series 2007 Team Page: India Team Page: West Indies | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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