Mushtaq Ahmed passed on deadly champagne to Woolmer!

(Mushy, under the scanner again/Getty Images)



In another sensational revelation, a Pakistani TV channel has claimed that it was Mushtaq Ahmed who passed on the two champagne bottles laced with weed killer to Bob Woolmer.

Incidentally, the needle of suspicion was pointed at Mushtaq in the West Indies, where his cut-marks on the face provoked many uncomfortable questions.

The ARY TV quoted Pakistan's media manager for the World Cup, Pervez Mir, as saying that Mushtaq received the bottles from some other person before passing them to Woolmer and claimed team manager Talat Ali was also witness to it.

Earlier, British media had reported that a rare weed killer was mixed with champagne, traces of which were found in the glass Woolmer drank from and even in his system.

Mushtaq, indicted in match-fixing case, was a last minute inclusion in Pakistan’s World Cup team, reportedly at the then captain Inzamam-ul Haq’s insistence.

Pak Team Manager’s Fake Name and Cut On Mushtaq’s Nose

(Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA)

Bob Woolmer’s murder took a new twist. A cut mark on Pakistan’s assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed’s nose and revelation that team manager Talat Ali used a fake name to change his hotel room had the Jamaican Police springing into action. Both Mushtaq and Talat, along with captain Inzamam-ul Haq, were grilled for the second time before they were finally allowed to fly home via London.

"The Observer" claims Talat was asked why he moved from the 12th floor of the team hotel to another suit on the 17th floor using the name "Newman", to which the team manager said he was scared to stay there. No clarification on why he used a fake name.

Mushtaq was reportedly asked how he got the cut on his nose and if he had visited doctor. Mushtaq said he was hit by a ball during the warm-up session before the Ireland match.

Now Mushtaq, an Abdul Qadir clone in his initial days, has a distinctly dubious past. Implicated in the Qayyum Committee report -- Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum advised Pakistan cricket Board to monitor the leggie – Mushtaq’s image was tarnished by the match-fixing scandal. But surprisingly, Mushy was picked as Pakistan’s assistant coach in the Champions trophy last year, which irked, among others, Justice Qayyum too.

Incidentally, Mushtaq was attached to the world Cup team at Inzamam’s behest. Pakistani players promised full cooperation to the sleuths even if they are in Pakistan. It surely is a critical juncture in the Woolmer murder mystery.