If the Mumbai Police are to be believed, another IPL team may have found itself caught in the spot-fixing scandal.
Currently, two teams — Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — have figured in separate probes by the Delhi and Mumbai police. Another report suggests that Kings XI Punjab is also under the scanner. Highly placed sources in the Mumbai Police have claimed that a fourth team could also come under the scanner for its involvement in betting.
Mumbai Police officers are tight-lipped about the identity of the team. Sources said an official of the company, which owns the team, was in touch with bookmakers through a suspicious person. The modus operandi is similar to that of arrested Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan.
The suspicious person is a developer of national repute who got in touch with bookie Ramesh Vyas on behalf of officials of the company which owns the team. The police ascertained the fact after it was confirmed by Vyas who is in custody.
Police officers said they are finding it difficult to question the company officials because they belong to a big and powerful lobby and that it would require approval from the top. All that the police officers would say about the team was that it was one of the teams which has won the IPL title. So far Royals, Chennai, Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians have won the trophy.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police is waiting to question Vikram Aggarwal of VVT Hotels that runs Radisson Hotels in Tamil Nadu. The police have been unsuccessful in locating Aggarwal in the last two days. Late on Monday, they learnt that Aggarwal has been detained by the Tamil Nadu police and would be seeking his remand for questioning. Aggarwal is a friend of Gurunath and Vindu Dara Singh and it was during a party thrown by Aggarwal that Gurunath met Vindu.
According to reports, a couple of Gurunath’s cellphones have been recovered from his yacht in Chennai. Police sources said the visiting cards seized from him had ‘CSK team principal’ written on them.
Meanwhile, CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been avoiding the media regularly. Having stayed away from the pre-match media conference before Sunday’s IPL final, he skipped the session after the final as well.