IPL spot-fixing: Sreesanth a victim of his own celebrity status, says lawyer

New Delhi: Even as lawyers and journalists were packed like sardines in courtroom number 508 for a hearing in the IPL spot-fixing case — with cricketers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila among the accused — a matronly lawyer rushing into the courtroom was overheard telling a colleague, “Woh chhor, Sreesanth ke case mein baithe hain. Yahan jaa ke kam se kam cricketer dikhega!” (Leave that, let’s sit in on Sreesanth’s. At least here we will be able to see a cricketer!) It is no secret that the only other people who receive as much adoration and fame as Bollywood stars in India are its cricketers. But, Sreesanth’s lawyers say that this very adoration and fame is what worked to his disadvantage today. [caption id=“attachment_803353” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  S Sreesanth. PTI[/caption] “The judgement is impinged by the celebrity status of the person,” said Rebecca John, a senior lawyer representing the cricketer. Saket court’s Metropolitan Magistrate Soumya Chauhan on Tuesday extended the police custody of the Kerala cricketer — who was among the 10 other accused — by five days. Another accused in the case — Babu Rao Yadav — who has played Ranji cricket for Indian Railways was arrested on Tuesday, according to the police. Yadav too was sent to police custody. Four other bookies accused in the IPL 6 spot-fixing case — Ajay Goyal, Rakesh Oberoi, Dipit Garg and Amit Gupta — were sent to judicial custody for 14 days. “My client’s case is nothing but a huge overreaction in the media and elsewhere. Even if there is a charge against my client, the maximum he would have done is tinker with an over in a match. There are much larger issues in this country and nobody is taking cognisance of those,” John told Firstpost. The police say they have proof of Sreesanth’s wrongdoings. “We have evidence of where Sreesanth spent the money. He spent it on clothing, merchandise, goggles and also purchased a cell phone for a friend. We also have his party bills,” investigating officer Manishi Chandra told Firstpost. The police on Tuesday told court that they had recovered his cell phone from Jaipur Tuesday morning and also took the cricketer’s voice sample. John refuted these claims saying the police had no evidence to incriminate Sreesanth. The defense, John said, has not received received or seen any of the evidence the police is talking about. “Despite what was said to be insinuating there is no incriminating phone conversation that involves Sreesanth. Today’s disclosure of the police having a conversation between Sreesanth and Jiju was a private conversation where Sreesanth asked Jiju why he had bought an expensive phone,” said John. Responding to the judge’s decision to grant an extension of police custody to Sreesanth, John said she hoped the special cell of the Delhi Police would do a better job of interrogation in the next five days. “We are confident that we will be able to prove Sreesanth innocent. Hope the police uses these extra days more productively and does not just work on getting longer custody,” she said. After all, John told Firstpost, “Sreesanth didn’t bowl a wide or a no ball or give away an extra. It was a perfectly legitimate over for a 20-20 cricket match.”