Mumbai, June 12: The International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption officer Alan Peacock was in Mumbai on Monday to question small-time Bollywood actress Nupur Mehta, whose name has figured in the recent match and spot-fixing allegations. The questioning took place at a suburban hotel in Mumbai, following which Mehta told TOI that she has been "given a clean chit by the ICC". However, sources in the sport's world governing body told TOI that they were not aware of any "clean chit" to Mehta yet.
Mehta's name first surfaced in March this year when a UK daily carried out a sting operation on a Delhi bookie. The sting was done to investigate allegations of match-fixing during the 2011 ICC World Cup held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The sting raised suspicions about Mehta being used by bookies to lure players. Although her name was not mentioned by the paper, a blurred image of Mehta was carried along with the story.
"I was quizzed for two-and-a-half hours by the ICC official and they are satisfied with the answers I have provided," Mehta told TOI on Monday. She added that the ICC asked her for names of cricketers who she claims are her social friends, and she provided them.
"I have many friends who are cricketers and with whom I socialize -- Yuvraj (Singh), Parthiv (Patel), Ishant (Sharma). I also know a lot of international players," said Nupur. In the past she has also claimed to have dated Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan.
When asked about her photograph published in the UK daily, she said she wasn't aware of any bookie nexus and was of the opinion that the daily must have used her photograph to cite her familiarity with international cricketers. "I don't know any bookie and I have no connections with anybody," said Mehta.
The actress, who has only one Bollywood movie (Jo Bole So Nihal) to her credit, said the ICC official kept asking her about how she came to be in touch with the cricketers. "I met them (cricketers) through my event management company and have accompanied them to parties where I kept getting introduced to more players," she said, adding that one player bumped into her in a pub.
"This player was sitting a few feet away and I did not know who he was. After some time he walked up to me to introduce himself. That's how we became friends," Mehta said. She claimed that he then introduced her to other players.
ICC sources, meanwhile, have rubbished Mehta's claims. While they confirm that Peacock did meet Mehta in Mumbai, they said it was for routine questioning. "She's not the only one. From time to time, we have been questioning people -- from cricketers to sponsors. We don't have anything to say on this (Mehta's comments)," said an official in the know of developments.
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