Inzamam, Mushtaq questioned again

Published March 25, 2007

KINGSTON (Jamaica), March 24: The Jamaican police on Saturday started fresh interrogation of Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and caretaker coach Mushtaq Ahmed in the death of coach Bob Woolmer, the team spokesman said.

The police, however, later allowed the two to leave with the team for home.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council said it would investigate whether match-fixing was a motive for the slaying of Bob Woolmer.

Council’s chief executive Malcolm Speed said in an interview with Britain’s Sky TV: “Our people from the anti-corruption and security unit will cooperate with the Jamaica police, they’re working with them already. If there is a link we want to know about it and we will deal with it.”

The Jamaican police allowed the Pakistan team to leave for home after taking fingerprints and DNA samples from every member of the squad. A spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board said the PCB was trying to arrange a chartered flight for its players to return home from Jamaica as they were on the verge of breaking down after a stressful week.

The Pakistan squad, who were knocked out of the World Cup after a shock loss to Ireland last Saturday, have had their departure delayed since Thursday.

Saleem Altaf, the board’s director of cricket operations, said their delay was due to a non-availability of seats. “The basic problem they are facing is finding seats from London to Pakistan on the World Cup’s official carriers. They have not been held up because of the investigations,” he said.

“We are now trying to arrange a chartered flight for them from London onwards.” He denied that the investigating authorities had refused permission for any player to fly out of Jamaica because of ongoing investigations.

“Obviously it has been very stressful for the players. The last week has been a very painful experience for all of us,” he said.

Altaf said the PCB had yet to receive anything in writing regarding the investigations but would continue to cooperate.

“Once the team is back we will get a report from the manager and also talk to the players. We need to start putting our cricket back on track as soon as possible,” he said.

WOOLMER’S BODY: Patrick Murphy, a coroner in Jamaica, said Woolmer’s body must remain on the Caribbean island until an inquest is held. A date for that has not been set.

Woolmer was South Africa’s coach in the 1990s when the team’s captain, Hansie Cronje, admitted taking money to fix matches and was banned from cricket for life. Woolmer was never implicated.

The coach was last seen going to his room last Saturday night after Pakistan’s loss to Ireland.

He was found by a hotel employee the next day. One witness reported seeing blood and vomit splattered in the room. Police have not released details about the crime scene.

“Because Bob was a large man, it would have taken some significant force to subdue him, but of course at this stage we do not know how many people were in the room,” a police official told reporters on Friday.—Agencies

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