IPL fixing: Sreesanth, teammates may face MCOCA charges
04 Jun 2013
On a day when small-time actor Vindoo Dara Singh and Gurunath Meiyappan, 'principal' of IPL cricket team Chennai Super Kings, were granted bail along with several alleged bookies in the betting scandal, others in the police net were less lucky.
The Delhi Police has decided to slap charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, the three Rajasthan Royals whose arrest for 'spot-fixing' opened the whole can of worms.
The provisions of the MCOCA will make it more difficult for the arrested cricketers, and some alleged bookies who will face the same charges, to get bail; and will make the punishment more stringent if they are convicted.
The move to use a law generally applied to organised crime syndicates in Maharashtra is likely to be challenged and strongly opposed by the lawyers of the players and the alleged bookies alike.
It will also mean the police will have to prove links between the accused in the spot fixing racket and organised crime syndicates.
A district judge will decide whether the case should be transferred to a special court to conduct the trial.