No direct evidence against Kapil: Bindra

CHANDIGARH, MAY 14. Former BCCI chief I.S. Bindra will submit documents pertaining to evidence regarding the ongoing match- fixing controversy in New Delhi on Monday.

At a press conference here on Sunday, Bindra, who is also the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president, however, said he did not have any evidence in support of the allegations against Kapil Dev. ``We (the PCA) will submit a 400-page report on match-fixing containing documents as evidence,'' Bindra said.

Bindra said he had a talk with the CBI officials last week on the match-fixing issue and the investigating agency had requested him to submit the documents at the earliest.

He declined to reveal the contents or even the outline of the 400-page report which would be submitted to the CBI ``tomorrow evening.''

``It (betting and match-fixing) started with the mushrooming of masala and thaila (money bag) matches at places like Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto,'' he said. ``Sharjah is the epicentre of match- fixing, I am sure.''

Responding to a question, Bindra said Manoj Prabhakar had recently come to the city and disclosed the name of Kapil Dev in front of a few other PCA officials as well.

``We have two witnesses to what Manoj Prabhakar had said. One is M.P. Pandov (PCA Hony. Secy.) and an independent witness,'' Bindra disclosed.

Bindra, however, said he was not for damaging anybody's reputation. ``We (PCA) have done more to honour Kapil than the BCCI,'' he said. ``We have a mural and a room named after him (Kapil) at the stadium.''

The PCA chief significantly said, ``if Manoj Prabhakar is proved wrong he would have to pay for it. It was not me but CNN which raised the question about Prabhakar's allegations. How could I decline to comment on what the channel already knew about Manoj's revelations to me,'' Bindra said.

In reply to a question, Bindra said his counsel would reply to the legal notice sent by Kapil Dev on Monday.

``It will comprise of what I was told by Prabhakar. I had some information which I made public. Had I not done so people would have blamed me from hiding information I was privy to. I am against match-fixing and want to see the game cleansed of it.''

- UNI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Kapil to sue Bindra for defamation
Next     : Scotland Yard ends inquiry