BBC SPORT | Cricket | Cronje case to go on

The criminal case that caused the fall of Hansie Cronje is still pending, according to India's Delhi police department.

Cronje was charged by Delhi police in April 2000 with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy along with Indian bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla, alias Sanjay.

"Hansie is dead but the match-fixing case is alive," said a top official from the Delhi police department who wished to remain anonymous.

Others named in the Delhi police First Information Report (FIR) on the case are Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Pieter Strydom and Henry Williams.

During the investigations of an entirely unrelated case, police recorded the conversation of Sanjeev Chawla and Cronje on cellular phones which led to the registration of the criminal case.

"The judicial process will go on and once the case goes to court, Cronje's name will be mentioned in column two of the (police) charge sheet," the official said.

Herschelle Gibbs is co-accused in the case in India

However, according to Indian legal practices, Cronje's name would appear in the charge sheet as a deceased suspect.

The judicial process will also require the physical presence of the remaining suspects once the charge sheet will be submitted.

"And then the process of sending summons etc will begin," the Indian official said.

"The truth is that a court will not accept petitions for dropping the match-fixing charges just because the prime accused is dead," he said.

The Indian authorities wanted South African officials to provide a certified sample of Cronje's voice to match with the recorded telephonic conversation during the investigations.

However, the United Cricket Board of South Africa had said in April 2000 that neither the board nor any of the South African officials were ever contacted by the Indian police for this purpose.

A South African commission of inquiry was set up after the allegations of match-fixing under retired judge Edwin King.

Cronje confessed at hearings that he had taken a total of $100,000 (�68,000) from illegal bookmakers on at least four occasions.

He had also offered bribes to Gibbs and Williams to under-perform in a one-day international in India's Nagpur city during the 2000 tour.

Gibbs and Williams were later fined and banned until the end of 2000.


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