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Hansie case to be re-opened

Cape Town - According to reports in India, Delhi Police are set to re-open the case involving the late Hansie Cronje and his alleged match-fixing activity with Indian bookmakers.

This comes in the wake of the criminal conviction of the three Pakistani cricketers, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Ameer for their part in cricket's spot-fixing saga.

The Deccan Chronicle website reports that sources in the Indian government confirm that an investigation involving the late disgraced former Protea captain would restart.

Cronje died in a plane crash before he could be charged in 2002, however, the case seems to have been brought back to life.

Despite Cronje’s death, the investigation will be restarted via a letter from the British courts formally requesting assistance from the Indian courts for details about another key suspect in the investigation, Sanjiv Chawla, who is a London-based bookmaker.

British authorities have shared information with the Delhi Police to aid their investigation, should further probing be required.

The Deccan Chronicle reports that police would submit a status report to a relevant court soon informing it of its intent to restart the investigation. Cronje was forced to step down after the match-fixing allegations surfaced in 1999.

The report further suggests that Delhi Police’s crime branch intercepted cell phone conversations of Cronje, which they have since found out belongs to a Delhi-based bookmaker, Rajesh Kalra.

It is believed that Cronje used the phone to talk to several people in Mumbai and New Delhi, most of who were subsequently tracked by the unit.

Cronje was apparently sharing information relating to the team’s matches such as team composition and other areas affecting the outcome of the match being discussed.

A number of Indian and overseas cricketers and cricket administrators have been questioned in the case so far, according to reports.

Delhi Police had first sent a letter rogatory to the UK in 2000, but as the response was not “satisfactory”, another was sent in 2007 after some new facts came to light, an official said.

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