Chennai/Mumbai:
Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI chief N Srinivasan, was arrested late on Friday night by the Mumbai Police for his alleged involvement in betting during the on-going edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Actor Vindoo Dara Singh, who was arrested earlier this week for his alleged links with bookies, has told the Mumbai Police that he bet on games on Mr Meiyappan's behalf, claim sources. Vindoo has also reportedly said that Mr Meiyappan lost Rs 1 crore in betting.
Here are the 10 big developments in the case:
Gurunath Meiyappan was questioned for nearly two hours at the Crime Branch office on Friday. Sources claim that during his questioning Mr Meiyappan admitted to having placed bets, but blamed Vindoo for it. Mr Meiyappan said he placed bets at the insistence of Vindoo, claimed sources.
Sources claim he has not yet been confronted with Vindoo. Mr Meiyappan will be produced before a court in Mumbai within 24 hours. "We have found his involvement in the offence related to IPL betting case. We have placed him under arrest," Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Mumbai Police Himanshu Roy said. (Watch: Shocking to see a franchise owner involved in betting, says Lalit Modi)
Mr Meiyappan's lawyer PS Raman said, "We are exploring all legal possibilities, we've to wait for the remand report to know what are the charges."
Sources in the Chennai Super Kings have claimed that Mr Meiyappan is not part of the Indian Premier League franchise. India Cements, the owner of the Chennai Super Kings, hasissued a statement clarifying that Gurunath Meiyappan is only an honorarymember of CSK, not owner. (Read full statement)
Meanwhile, N Srinivasan has reportedly refused to quit as the BCCI president, saying he has done no wrong. "I have done nothing wrong. There is no question of my resigning. My conscience is clear," he told NDTV. Mr Srinivasan added that this is an attempt to target him through his son-in-law. (Read)
Earlier on Friday, IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla said, "All the people involved in the spot-fixing scandal and found guilty must be punished." Mr Shukla along with BJP leader and head of the BCCI disciplinary committee Arun Jaitley also met Law Minister Kapil Sibal, who had last week said that a separate law against fixing is needed.
Sources claim that Vindoo has named five-six Bollywood personalities who are linked with the spot-fixing scandal. The police have however not disclosed any names, saying the details that have emerged from the actor's interrogation need to be verified.
Vindoo has allegedly told the police that he helped two bookies, Pawan Jaipur and Sanjay Jaipur, escape to Dubai, sources claimed. The police conducted a search at Vindoo's residence on Wednesday and reportedly recovered three mobile phones allegedly belonging to Pawan Jaipur. They also seized Vindoo's iPad and laptop.
The Delhi Police is seeking access to items found in the Mumbai hotel room where cricketer Sreesanth stayed, sources claim. Delhi Police will reportedly file a production warrant addressed to their Mumbai counterparts in court. Delhi Police have also sent teams to Hyderabad and Goa to track purchases of the arrested Rajasthan Royals players, Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila, reportedly made with money paid to them by bookies.
Sources say Delhi Police will also ask the BCCI to share raw footage of all matches that featured Rajasthan Royals in IPL-6.
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