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gameShame
BCCI chief’s son-in-law charged with betting, leaking team info
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 21
The Mumbai police today formally charged Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, with making illegal bets and leaking crucial information on his Chennai Super Kings team during the IPL tournament earlier this year.

This could mean a setback for Srinivasan who is seeking a one-year extension as the top-most cricket administrator at the Annual General Meeting of the Board on September 29.

Other charges against Meiyappan include cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. No case of spot-fixing has been filed against Meiyappan, former Team Principal of CSK, owned by Srinivasan's India Cements, said police officials.

Apart from Meiyappan, actor Vindoo and 20 others have been made accused in the case. Meiyappan (35) was arrested on May 25 and was granted bail on June 3 along with Vindoo.

Pakistani umpire Assad Rauf, who fled the country shortly after the scandal came to light, has also been named as a "wanted accused" by the police. The 11,500-page chargesheet, filed in the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Uday Padwad, names 15 bookies from Pakistan as among those wanted. Investigations into the racket have exposed players such as S Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajay Chandila. Several notorious bookies, Ramesh Vyas, Ashok Vyas and Pandurang Kadam, have been arrested in the case.

Mumbai Police Joint Commissioner Himanshu Roy said investigations showed that 40 SIM cards were purchased using fake documents. The list of wanted accused also includes bookies from the UAE, he said, adding that the police examined 205 witnesses and seized 150 mobile phones among other equipment. The chargesheet contains transcripts of phone conversations between Meiyappan and Vindoo, Forensic reports confirming the voices of the two have also been submitted to the court, the police said. Srinivasan sought to distance himself from his controversial son-in-law. "I have always maintained that if Gurunath is wrong then the law will take its own course. You people must realise that I am not disqualified at all...," Srinivasan said in Chennai.

(With PTI inputs)

Vindoo, Rauf in the dock too

Apart from Meiyappan, actor Vindoo and 20 others have been made accused in the case

Pakistani umpire Assad Rauf, who fled the country shortly after the scandal came to light, has also been named as a "wanted accused" by the police

The chargesheet contains transcripts of phone conversations between Meiyappan and Vindoo

Forensic reports confirming the voices of the two have also been submitted to the court

All accused have been charged only for betting and not spot-fixing in the IPL matches

Relief for Lalit Modi

A Delhi court on Saturday restrained the BCCI from holding its Special General Meeting on September 25 to consider the report of the disciplinary committee on former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi for alleged financial irregularities in running of the cricket league