22 May,2013 06:26 AM IST | | Agencies
Tainted cricketer S Sreesanth went on a shopping spree with the money he earned from spot-fixing, buying apparel worth Rs 1.95 lakh for himself and a mobile phone costing over Rs 40,000 for his girlfriend, Delhi Police said Tuesday.
Police said tainted cricketer Sreesanth spent a whopping Rs 2.35 lakh in a shopping spree with the spot-fixing money. File Pic
He wanted to quickly dispose of the money which he got after fixing, a police official said. "Sreesanth went to buy clothes from Diesel's showroom in Mumbai where he spent Rs 1.95 lakh. From the money which he got from spot-fixing, he also bought a BlackBerry Z10 phone for his girlfriend," the official added.
Investigators are also checking whether these were bought with the Rs 10 lakh advance Sreesanth allegedly received from the bookies as part of a Rs 40-lakh deal. Three Rajasthan Royals IPL cricketers - Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and over a dozen bookies have been arrested in the ongoing investigations into the spot-fixing scam that was busted by the Delhi police last week.
Custody extended
A Delhi court yesterday extended police custody of Sreesanth, Chavan, Chandila and eight bookies by five days. Metropolitan Magistrate Saumya Chauhan granted police custody of the players and the bookies till May 26 when they were presented in a packed courtroom at the end of their earlier police remand. The court also sent five other bookies to 14 days' judicial custody, after the prosecution said they were no longer needed for interrogation.
Public Prosecutor Rajeev Mohan, appearing for Special Cell of Delhi Police, sought the the custody of Sreesanth and 10 others for five more days saying the accused were needed to unearth the whole conspiracy. "They [accused] are needed for recovery of more spot fixing related money and equipments from various places," he said, adding that they will also be brought before each other during questioning. The prosecutor said their custody was also needed to arrest some co-accused.
Phones recovered
Police also told the court two mobile phones, bought with spot fixing money, were recovered from Sreesanth's girlfriend. Advocates appearing for the accused opposed the extension of their police custody, claiming that nothing remained to be recovered from them. Sreesanth and 10 others were arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police from the national capital region, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Police have booked the the cricketers under penal provisions of criminal breach of trust as they did not play for their team and played for the bookies for their own interest. They were also booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy. The bookies were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy. The cricketers had indulged in spot fixing in at least three IPL matches as per arrangements with bookies who have underworld connections abroad, police said.
