INTENSIFYING its probe into the Indian Premier League betting racket, Mumbai police on Thursday (May 23) issued summons to Chennai Super King’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gurunath Meiyappan asking him to appear before it on Friday (May 24) for questioning after he was found to be in “frequent touch” with actor Vindoo, arrested in connection with the scandal.
A 4-member team of Mumbai police’s crime branch led by Deputy Commissioner Satyanarayana Chaudhary was despatched to Chennai on Thursday with summons and brief to question Meiyappan, son-in-law of CSK owner and Board of Control for Cricket in India chief N Srinivasan.
Meiyappan’s whereabouts were not yet known.
“A team of four officials led by DCP Satyanarayana Chaudhary was despatched to Chennai with brief to question Meiyappan. They also carried summons for Meiyappan.
“Since the team could not find anybody at his residence, a copy of the summons was pasted at his residence and another copy handed over to a manager at CSK’s office,” Joint Commissioner (crime branch) Himanshu Roy told reporters in Mumbai.
Meiyappan, team principal and CEO of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, has been asked to present himself before the crime branch in Mumbai between 11 am and 5 pm on Friday.
Roy said Meiyappan would be confronted with Vindoo Randhawa, actor son of late wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh, following his claims about his association with the top CSK honcho.
“Vindoo has spoken a lot and we have come across certain issues related to Meiyappan which we have to verify and corroborate and ascertain the veracity of the actor’s claims,” he said.
The whereabouts of Meiyappan on Thursday remained shrouded in mystery as some reports said he had left for Kolkata, while others claimed he had stayed back in New Delhi after witnessing the first play-off between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians on Tuesday (May 21).Yet another account indicated he was already in Mumbai.
When asked what would be the next course of action for Mumbai police if Meiyappan did not turn up for questioning, Roy said, “According to the procedure, a person who does not turn up for questioning can be declared an absconder and a prayer is made to a competent court seeking an arrest warrant for him.”
“Given his high-profile status we expect him to turn up for recording his statement. Recording Meiyappan’s statement is necessary in the light of claims made by Vindoo,”
he said.
Replying to a question, the crime branch chief said no other player or person from the management of Chennai Super Kings was under the scanner “for the moment”.
Asked about how deep ran the association between Vindoo and Meiyappan, Roy said,”It was certainly not just a social interaction….it was something more than that.”
Vindoo was said to have been frequently sighted attending post-match IPL parties and was even seen cheering the CSK team from VIP box seated next to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wife Sakshi.
About possible underworld connection in the betting scandal, he said since a key bookie Ramesh Vyas had made calls to punters in Pakistan and Dubai and as there was also a hawala angle, the crime branch was also looking at underworld links to the racket.
Roy said Vindoo, winner of reality tv show Bigg Boss season 3, had placed bets on behalf of some Bollywood celebrities but declined to identify any.
The officer said investigators were trying to ascertain the veracity of Vindoo’s claim that he had incurred losses through betting in all previous five seasons of IPL and made Rs 17 lakh in the ongoing season six.
“We are trying to ascertain whether it was due to his now good contacts in the cricket world that he made good money during the current season,” he said.
Vindoo, who came into contact with Meiyappan at a party thrown for cricketers 5-6 years ago, was claimed to be in “frequent touch” with the CSK CEO and made several calls during IPL matches.
According to Roy, the tainted actor had admitted to having facilitated the escape of two bookies – Pawan Jaipur and Sanjay Jaipur – to Dubai from Mumbai on May 17.
After the Mumbai police busted an international betting racket with the arrest of key bookie Ramesh Vyas and three others on May 14, Pawan and Sanjay had gone underground to evade arrest.
Vindoo was arrested on Tuesday for his connection with bookies, reportedly on the basis of Vyas’s statement.
