IPL fixing report to be submitted to apex court on Monday

The report is expected to confirm that Gurunath was in touch with Vindoo Dara Singh. (Source: Express File)

The Justice Mukul Mudgal-led panel, which is investigating the IPL fixing and betting scandal, will submit its final report to the Supreme Court on Monday. This comes almost six months after the apex court had asked IPS officer BB Mishra and the police departments in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to assist the investigation into the corruption scandal. The SC had felt the need to dig deeper after the Mudgal panel’s preliminary report had mentioned the names of 13 important cricket officials and players, given to the court in a sealed envelope, against whom allegations ranging from corruption to conflict of interest had been made.

Mishra, assisted by a team of police investigators in the last few months, has had extensive interactions with top players, including Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, agents of cricketers and Board of Control of Cricket in India functionaries. They were questioned about IPL Season Six, their corporate partnerships, business interests and power wielded by franchise officials. Dhoni, specifically, was asked about Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in CSK. Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of ICC chairman N Srinivasan, was arrested over allegations of betting on IPL games.

Aided by fresh evidence, the final report is expected to confirm that Meiyappan was an important Chennai Super Kings (CSK) official and that he was involved in betting during 2013 IPL. It has been reliably learnt from the forensic lab in Mumbai which is investigating the alleged tapped phone calls between Meiyappan and Vindoo Dara Singh that the voice samples were indeed that of Srinivasan’s son-in-law. These revelations will leave Chennai Super Kings’ future in the T20 league under a cloud.

The next SC hearing in the case is on November 10. It will be an eagerly awaited day at the court since the BCCI Annual General Meeting, where Srinivasan is trying to return as president of the Indian cricket board, is scheduled for November 20. The outcome of the report is expected to have an impact on the voting pattern and Srinivasan’s future as a cricket administrator.

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