Spot fixing: Sreesanth claims innocence, alleges frame up

New Delhi: Indian pace bowler S Sreesanth, who along with others, is embroiled in a spot-fixing controversy that has rocked the ongoing IPL, on Thursday claimed in a Delhi court that he is innocent and was framed in the scandal.

Opposing Delhi police`s plea seeking seven-day custodial interrogation of all the accused, advocate Deepak Prakash, who appeared for Sreesanth, told reporters that he told Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma that the cricketer is innocent and there is no evidence against him in the case. "The police have not produced any direct evidence against Sreesanth. He is innocent and has been framed in the case", he said. He said police only produced certain excerpts of the tapped conversation of bookies in which Sreesanth`s name has not even cropped up anywhere. Opposing the police`s plea, Prakash said the probe agency has failed to give any preliminary evidence against Sreesanth. "He (Sreesanth) is totally broken and now I will try for his bail after meeting him in the police station," he said. Dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, Sreesanth was brought in the court premises in a separate car with his face muffled up with a black cloth. Two policemen accompanied him in the car. The prosecutor told the court that these cricketers had betted and taken money for every ball and runs in every over. The police said Chavan had taken money for yesterday`s match also. The court allowed the police`s plea saying, "five days custody is sufficient for the police to interrogate them (accused)." PTI