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Woolmer murder linked to Dawood
A UK media report says a bookie thrown out of Bob's room was a D-company man, reports Vijay Dutt.
The D-word exploded in the UK press on Thursday in connection with Bob Woolmer’s murder, resurrecting speculation that Pakistan’s coach was killed by the match-fixing mafia.
The Sun made a dramatic announcement of the “Al-Qaeda link to Woolmer death”, saying a Pakistan-based match-fixer linked to Dawood Ibrahim — whom the tabloid described as “an al-Qaeda fundraiser” — had been “turfed out” of Woolmer’s room after a “blazing row”.
The report quoted unnamed intelligence officials “who tour with the Indian cricket team” as saying the bookie was at the World Cup in Jamaica with Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim.
It said two Pakistani players had told investigators of the bust-up in Woolmer’s room. “Woolmer said he had thrown a bookie out of his room. He didn’t give a reason,” an unnamed Jamaican official told the tabloid, drawing from the players’ statements to the police.
The Daily Mail reported a slightly different version. The tabloid said an Indian — not Pakistani — bookie was involved. “The incident is said to have been on Saturday March 17, shortly after the shock defeat of Pakistan by Ireland in the World Cup,” the report said.
Chief investigator Mark Shields said the Dawood angle would be probed.
