Match fixing issue may come back to life

The retired Supreme Court judge Yashwant Vishnu Chandrachud may have found Indian cricketers `clean', but it may not be so in Vishwa Bandhu Gupta's diary. The Additional Commissioner of Income-Tax in New Delhi, Vishwa Bandhu Gupta is planning to write to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to conduct enquiries on all cricketers who have played for India over the last ten years to state whether they have disclosed income under the VDIS (Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme).

``I have pride and interest for the country at my heart'' said the 49-year-old additional I-T commissioner who is not due for retirement until 2010. Speaking to this correspondent over telephone from his Delhi residence on Tuesday, Gupta revealed, ``several people including recent cricketers have declared unaccounted wealth under VDIS. A recent India captain had declared a sum of Rs. 16 crore under this scheme.''

The VDIS scheme was introduced on July 1, 1997 by the then finance minister P. Chidambaram and it lasted for about six months. According to Gupta, the VDIS scheme was formulated with few in-built loopholes. ``Not only cricketers, but many industrialists and people having contacts in foreign countries have taken the benefits of the scheme.'' Though it was announced that 30% would be deducted from the declared unaccounted wealth and no questions would be asked about the source of the income, Gupta concedes people have the right to know the names of people who have declared huge sums in the scheme.

``The confidentiality clause doesn't hold when the money is earned through criminal means,'' according to Gupa. The money, if declared by smugglers, persons having criminal background, cheaters or narcotics etc. are not acceptable under VDIS. If a cricketer is found involved in match-fixing, he can be investigated for cheating.

Gupta is not happy with the way Manoj Prabhakar's issue was handled. ``Match-fixing is a big game and I am not satisfied with the findings,'' he said.

Former BCCI president NKP Salve, who is India's nominee on the ICC's commission on match-fixing, said from his Delhi residence: ``The cricketers found guilty on such matters may not be prosecuted under the income-tax laws, but can certainly be taken to task under criminal laws.''