Published: Jul 29, 2013, 11:02 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 29, 2013, 11:02 AM (IST)
The Mumbai Crime Branch refused to depose before the inquiry committee set up by the BCCI, saying it wasn’t required by law to present any evidence before a panel not judicially constituted © PTI
Mumbai: Jul 29, 2013
Hours after the two-member probe committee appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave a clean chit to India Cements — owned by the board’s president-in-exile N Srinivasan, whose son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is one of the accused in the IPL spot-fixing and betting controversy — the Mumbai Crime Branch said that it has “enough evidence” against Meiyappan to implicate him.
Responding to Sunday’s developments, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy told MiD DAY: “We have enough evidence against Meiyappan to nail him in the court of law.” Roy also responded to allegations that the Crime Branch was not cooperating with the BCCI’s probe panel. “There is no question of not cooperating in this case. An officer who investigates criminal cases under the CrPC is answerable only to the court,” he said.
The comments came on the back of reports that the Crime Branch refused to depose before the inquiry committee set up by the BCCI, saying it wasn’t required by law to present any evidence before a panel not judicially constituted.
A Crime Branch officer said, as quoted by MiD DAY, “About two weeks ago, we received a letter from the BCCI asking the investigating officer to appear before the two-member panel comprising former judges T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian. BCCI is a private body and we are not bound to submit our confidential evidence before any other inquiry panel, unless it is formed by the court.”
The Crime Branch officials wrote back to the BCCI requesting to know the provisions that make it mandatory for them to submit their evidence. “The BCCI did not respond to our letter since then. It is a sensitive case,” the officer added. Sources told the tabloid that the Crime Branch fears that if it submits the report to the BCCI, there are chances that it might get leaked to Meiyappan who would exploit it to his benefit.
Meiyappan was arrested on May 25 for his alleged involvement in the IPL betting scandal. He got embroiled in the scandal after actor and fellow accused Vindoo Dara Singh admitted to having placed bets on Meiyappan’s behalf.
