Jayasuriya banned for two years for destroying evidence of corruption sought by ICC
Dubai, Feb 26: Legendary Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was Tuesday banned for two years after admitting to obstruct an anti-corruption probe by "destroying" the phones which were sought as evidence by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Jayasuriya admitted breaching the anti-corruption unit (ACU) code of the global body on two separate counts.
"As a result of the admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility," the ICC stated.
However, he wasn't given the maximum punishment of five years for his breach after the world body took his "previous good conduct" into account. Jayasuriya's sanction will be a backdated one starting from October 16, 2018.
The left-handed batsman and orthodox spinner is a former Sri Lankan captain who was a key member of the 1996 World Cup-winning team before going on to serve two terms as the chairman of selectors.
The 49-year-old was adjudged 'Player of the Tournament' during Sri Lanka's victorious 1996 World Cup campaign.
Jayasuriya was questioned as part of the ICC's investigation of wide scale corruption in Sri Lankan cricket.
The Article 2.4.6 of ICC Code of Conduct deals with "failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU."
The Article 2.4.7 deals with "obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information..."
Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager ACU said: "This conviction under the Code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket co-operating with investigations. Compelling participants to cooperate under the Code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport.
As per the detailed judgement uploaded by the ICC, Jayasuriya was asked to hand over his mobile devices after ACU GM Alex Marshall was satisfied that information on the mobile devices belonging to him in the period between January 1, 2017 to 22 September, 2017 "might be relevant to the investigation."
Marshall instructed the ACU team to "demand" the two mobile phones.
Accordingly, Jayasuriya was investigated by the ICC ACU unit on three specific dates -- September 22, 23 and October 5 in 2017.
As per the copy of the judgement, the ACU team had specifically asked "Jayasuriya to give details of all mobile phones that he owned, used or had access to".
On September 22, 2017, Jayasuriya informed the investigators that he had two mobile devices.
However the prolific batsman of yesteryears then changed his statement on the very next day (September 23, 2017) and divulged that he had two more mobile phones which got lost between May 15 to 23/24, 2017. These two numbers had last digits of '888' and '088'.
He told the ACU officials that those two numbers were not in use.
However, Jayasuriya had no inkling that the "investigators called up on the numbers with last digits '888' and the phone rang contrary to his statement."
But on the second occasion when ICC officials tried, there was an automated response.
On October 5, when Jayasuriya was represented by his legal counsel, the player said that he had destroyed the earlier phone after a private video went viral and he was "under stress".
But according to his lawyer, it was his driver, who retrieved the sim card and put it in another phone. It was later handed over to Jayasuriya, who then used that earlier '888' sim to check text messages.
The ACU unit had proof that between March 15, 2017 and September 14, 2017, hundreds of calls and text messages were recorded on the number ending with '888' which proved that the cricketer was lying.
Once his lawyer admitted that Jayasuriya had misled the investigation, he was charged with relevant sections 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 respectively.
The ACU recently gave an amnesty in relation to Sri Lanka Cricket resulting in 11 players and other participants coming forward with new information.
"The amnesty has worked very well and has delivered significant new and important intelligence," Marshall said.
"I am very grateful to those who participated in the amnesty and as a result of the information shared we now have a much clearer picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and our investigations are continuing."
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
