Chawla extradited from UK over fixing

LONDON: Alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla, the key accused in the 2000 match-fixing scandal involving Hansie Cronje, was extradited from the UK on Thursday. The 50-year-old will be kept in Tihar jail ahead of his trial by the Delhi police crime branch.

Chawla is suspected to have played a key role with Cronje in conspiring to fix matches during the South Africa tour of India in 2000. Chawla, along with Cronje, Rajesh Kalra, Manmohan Khattar, Sunil Dara alias Bittu and Kishan Kumar, was named as accused by Delhi police in 2013 and chargesheeted for offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the IPC. He was arrested in London in September 2016 following India's request. Chawla, ever since his arrest in 2016, has also argued against his extradition to India on human rights grounds in the UK court but his appeal was rejected. Last week, the European Court of Human Rights, also rejected his appeal, clearing the decks for his extradition.

Earlier, on January 16, a two-member court panel ruled in favour of the extradition, satisfied by the assurances provided by India that Chawla, a British passport holder, would be accommodated in a cell occupied exclusively by him, with proper "safety and security" and complying with the "personal space and hygiene requirements" the court expects. Chawla, on orders of a Delhi court, will now be in a 12-day police custody.