Mumbai, November 9: After the Crime Branch arrested former Karnataka players CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi for alleged spot fixing in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), the BCCI has decided to conduct an independent inquiry into the whole episode.
"There are two points here. When the Bangalore police files its chargesheet, its investigation will be complete. We'll take a copy of that chargesheet. Secondly, there are some people against whom we have also launched our inquiry. We're taking their statements and giving them the opportunity to defend themselves. After that, we'll propose the necessary action to the Board," BCCI's Anti-Corruption Chief Ajit Singh was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Singh did identify the players who are under their radar but said: "We're in touch with the police. If we've something, we pass it on to them because they've the legal authority to take care of a much wider spectrum. We can only take action against the 'participants,' but they can do that against the others, like the bookies, too. We can't act against the bookies."
"From this year, it's the BCCI who will take care of their (state leagues') anti-corruption needs. We're happy that we've got leads and are conducting inquiries. We're pleased that the Bangalore police is also being proactive on this front. The police has far more powers than us. They can arrest people who are out of our ambit. I feel that after the action that has been taken, the impact will be far-reaching. Maybe, the next edition of KPL will be cleaner than what it was," he added.