COP SEEKS BIG IPL PROBE
Alleging a massive cover-up in the probe done by CB-CID wing of Tamil Nadu police into the IPL betting scam, suspended IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar urged the Supreme Court Friday to order a multi-agency probe in to the scandal.
The move by Sampath Kumar may further emba rrass the BCCI which has been under the court’s scanner after the Mudgal probe panel confirmed betting allegations on the prima facie evidence against Chennai Super Kings team official and BCCI chief N. Sriniv asan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.
Sampath Kumar said in his petition that the fact he had deposed before the probe committee appointed by SC did not find favour with certain influential sections of people who are in management of IPL and also certain officials trying their best to derail the investigating process and sabotage the entire probe.
Sampath Kumar, SP in Q Branch, CID (Internal Security) had stumbled upon the betting and match fixing racket while he was probing a fake passport case. He was later transferred and posted as SP, Railways, Tiruchy and subsequently placed under suspension after he disclosed names of certain Indian cricket players, who were suspected to be involved in betting, to the Mudgal committee.
The apex court, on a plea by the Cricket Association of Bihar, had earlier asked Srinivasan to step aside for now and give way to Sunil Gavaskar as interim chief to deal with the IPL management for the 2014 season while BCCI vice president Shivlal would look after all other affairs of the board. The bench, comprising Justices A.K. Patnaik and FMI Kalifullah, will now hear the IPS officer’s plea on April 16, 2014, when it decides the kind of a probe to be ordered into the spot and match-fixing and betting allegations.
Sampath Kumar has claimed he came to know that one Uttam Jain, aka Kitty, a bookie who had allegedly disclosed the betting links of Chennai Super Kings’ players and team officials with the bookies, was connected with the betting scam during interrogation.
A further probe into transcripts of his phone calls with others indicated a very wide network of bookies and punters involved in large-scale betting and spot/match fixing during IPL-Season 6, his petition said. Sampath Kumar claimed that he was being victimised wrongly and sought a court stay on his suspension pending an inquiry.