Sunday, November 20 2005 20:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The interrogation of gangster and one of the main accused in 1993 Mumbai blasts Abu Salem by CBI has brought into focus the alleged links between a former Indian cricketer and the underworld, according to highly placed sources in the investigating agency.

The sources said the gangster had confirmed that he knew the Indian cricketer. Salem initially denied his links with him about match fixing but when confronted with a taped conversation with the player, Salem acknowledged it without elaborating further.

This case may throw further light on links of the underworld with cricketers especially in the light of a thorough probe carried out by CBI in 1999.

The agency had been directed by the then Government to probe into the match-fixing allegations and submit a report, which was done.

The CBI and other security agencies were already probing the same Indian cricketer for funding the expenses of the underworld don in Portugal.

Informed sources said the underworld don had parked his money with a cricketer and a Bollywood actress who, in turn, used to send the money to him for his expenses in the European country.

Salem, who was brought to India on Wednesday after three years of legal battle, is expected to throw more light on the of cricketer-bookie-underworld during the remand period, which ends on November 23.

CBI sources said the bank transactions of Salem were monitored closely and names of the former cricketer and the actress, who had been allegedly laundering money for Salem and taking care of his expenses in Portugal came to light.

Security agencies, seeking to unravel the funding mystery, traced some of the financial transactions to the former Indian cricketer and the actress said the sources.

Help of some more foreign countries could be sought to trace the money trail completely, they added.

A visibly cool person during questioning, Salem has been 'co-operating' with CBI during his nine days of remand but has not given anything about global terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, CBI sources said.

Salem was claiming he had met Dawood only once in his life but CBI sources said this was a diversionary tactic being adopted by the extradited gangster to avoid being grilled on Dawood or his operations.