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Business News/ Industry / Advertising/  Raj Kundra admits placing bets on Rajasthan Royals: Delhi Police
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Raj Kundra admits placing bets on Rajasthan Royals: Delhi Police

Police seize Kundra’s passport; BCCI to discuss issue at working committee meet; Sanjay Patel new secretary of cricket board

Raj Kundra is the second IPL team official after Chennai Super Kings’s Gurunath Meiyappan to be allegedly linked to the betting scandal. Photo: HT (HT)Premium
Raj Kundra is the second IPL team official after Chennai Super Kings’s Gurunath Meiyappan to be allegedly linked to the betting scandal. Photo: HT
(HT)

New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra admitted during questioning that he placed bets on cricket matches, even on his own team, Delhi Police said on Thursday even as the BCCI, Indian cricket’s governing body, called an emergency meeting to discuss the revelations .

Police have confiscated Kundra’s passport to ensure that he does not leave the country during investigations into the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal. Kundra, a British national, was questioned for 11 hours on Wednesday after cricketer Sidharth Trivedi told police that Kundra’s business partner-friend Umesh Goenka used to ask for information regarding team formation and pitches.

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said, “He has admitted to betting. He used to bet on his own team. We have also come to know that he has lost a lot of money in betting. He used to bet through Goenka, who is also a bookie," Goenka said.

Kundra is the second IPL team official after Chennai Super Kings’s Gurunath Meiyappan to be allegedly linked to the betting scandal. If the charges against them are proved, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can suspend the teams from the IPL.

Police officers said they have confiscated Kundra’s passport and have asked him not to leave the country. To another question, he said police have not applied MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) in the case to deny bail to players. “We have applied law based on the crime committed," he said.

A senior Delhi Police officer had on Wednesday refused to specify whether Kundra is a “suspect or complainant", stating he was an “important person" needed for questioning. Police officers claimed that Kundra was into betting, but not into fixing. Their questioning was basically into betting, the officers said.

People familiar with the matter said the name of Goenka, with whom Kundra owns a company dealing in steel, came during the recording of Trivedi’s statement, a prosecution witness in the case. In his statement recorded before a magistrate, these people said , Trivedi claimed that Goenka approached him and sought details about the cricket pitch in Ahmedabad and details about team formations.

Kundra holds 42% stake in the steel business with Goenka who has 16% in the firm.

Earlier in the day before Kumar’s remarks, Kundra had tweeted, “Good morning woke up to news Raj Kundra faces the heat. Yes it’s very hot in Mumbai. Media has misconstrued everything using unreliable sources. Try speaking to the main guys at crime branch. Why does media hype things and make such stupid claims to sell news."

“Is there an arrest warrant? I am back home in Mumbai. Kindly let Delhi crime branch do their work. media stop using derogatory statements," Kundra said.

Kundra’s wife and actress Shilpa Shetty tweeted, “get the real story rather than ure PAID (unreliable) sources. Just to reiterate, we will do all it takes to reach to the bottom of this ‘spot fixing case’ and be of complete help till that happens."

Atul Wassan, a former test player and cricket analyst, said the revelations underlined the need for action from administrators.

“It has now come to a point where the board has to implement the rules as per the book. People will lose faith otherwise. The fact that the Delhi police commissioner has gone on record (to say that Kundra had admitted to betting), we need to take that at face value. It (betting) is the most unethical practice if a team owner indulges in betting, that too on his own team. This is really serious," Wassan said.

At a press conference in Kolkata, the BCCI working group’s chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said the issue of Raj Kundra’s alleged involvement in betting will come up for discussion at an emergency working committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday.

“...after we hear the details, if it demands any strict action, we will look into it," Dalmiya said.

Dalmiya said that Baroda Cricket Association’s Sanjay Patel will be the new BCCI secretary while the post of the treasurer will be announced later.

He also said that no BCCI member will be part of the inquiry commission looking into the IPL allegations. Two retired high court judges T. Jayaram Chouta and R .Balasubramaniam will form the two-member commission to probe allegations against BCCI chief N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and CSK.

Ajit Wadekar, former captain and manager of the Indian cricket team, said betting should be made legal.

“After the IPL got over, this (the betting scandal) is another round of entertainment for the Indian public. So much so, that other pertinent matters such as the 2G scam, have all been relegated to the background. I am sure the BCCI was aware of the betting (in IPL). The government should make betting legal. It’s a parallel economy out there. If they make it legal they can get a sizeable income off it. Beyond that, I think RTI (right to information) should be applicable to the BCCI as well, they should be transparent about their dealings."

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Published: 06 Jun 2013, 10:32 AM IST
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