Bookie Sanjeev Chawla, Accused In Match-Fixing Scandal, Extradited To India

New Delhi: Bookie Sanjeev Chawla, who has been named as a key accused in the senational 2000 match-fixing scandal which revolved around South African cricket icons, has been brought to the national capital on Thursday, by officers of the Delhi Police. Sanjeev Chawla was extradited from the UK. The extradition of the bookie marks a significant step in bringing such accused fugitives to book.

Chawla, a fifty-year-old British national, is one of the main accused in the match-fixing scandal centering around former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje in 2000. Cronje died in a plane crash in June, 2002.

Sanjeev Chawla, after being brought to Delhi, will undergo the mandatory medical examinations first. Later, he will be moved to Tihar Jail in the national capital. The bookie will be kept in detention in compliance with Government of India's assurances to the UK court.

Sanjeev Chawla's case turned out to be a high-profile one under the India-UK Extradition Treaty, which was inked in 1992. It is now expected that the extradition of other fugitives such as liquor baron Vijay Mallya and diamantaire Nirav Modi, is also on the cards.

Earlier, media reports stated that the Scotland Yard was ready to turn over Sanjeev Chawla to the Indian authorities for extradition. Chawla's statements may prove to be revealing on match-fixing scandals of the time, experts say.