FIR filed against Srinivasan and Gurunath
Jaipur, Nov 1 (IANS) Indian cricket board president Narayanaswami Srinivasan suffered a major setback Friday after a court here asked the police to file an FIR and investigate allegations of match-fixing against him and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, a former team principal of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Satish Chandra Godara instructed the Jyotinagar Police Station here to investigate allegations of mach fixing by Srinivasan, president of the BCCI and managing director of India Cements Ltd, which owns Chennai Super Kings, and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.
The allegations are conspiring and executing the fixing of an IPL match played May 12 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here between Chennai Super Kings and hosts Rajasthan Royals. The match was won by Rajasthan Royals by five wickets.
In response to a complain filed by eminent lawyer Mehmood Abdi, president Sri Ganganagar District Cricket Association, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate issued directions to Jaipur police to investigate into the allegations. The complains were filed Oct 26 and Oct 28. Abdi is also a lawyer of suspended IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi, who has been expelled by the BCCI.
In his complaint, Abdi inter alia alleged that Srinivasan and Meiyappan had used their substantial influence to ensure that Super King underperform, in order for the accused to gain financial benefits through illegal match-related betting activities.
Abdi alleged that several individuals’ integrity was compromised due to them being under the employment of India Cements, which provided the accused with the necessary wherewithal to influence on-field proceedings in that particular match.
“Furthermore, it is also alleged that pre-match rumours suggested that Chennai Super Kings would deliberately underperform and score around 130 to 140 runs to ensure a Rajasthan Royals victory. CSK scored 141 and the Royals easily chased down the target in 17 overs. The pre-match betting rumour combined with the end result and the high level of influence that Srinivasan and Meiyappan exerted within the CSK ranks are stated as the primary reference points in the complaint filed by Mahmood Abdi, President of Shriganganagar District Cricket Association in Rajasthan,” a statement from Abdi said.
The statement also stated that Super Kings boast of some powerful hitters but not a single six was slammed during their innings, while Rajasthan Royals hit nine sixes in their innings.
“The credibility of the BCCI President and his son-in-law is further called into question through the public accusation of Srinivasan’s son, Ashwin, of his father’s involvement in betting and match-fixing. Former BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra’s revelations relating to the presence of a lady connected to a bookie with a CSK player during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2010 and its eventual cover up by Srinivasan only adds question marks to the BCCI President’s credibility. Add to that the accusation that the BCCI President continually broke moral and governance norms by circumventing BCCI rules and appointing IPL match umpires unilaterally; some of whom are employees of India Cements, and there is enough reason to probe the complaint,” a statement from Abdi read.
Indian Cements has India players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin on its payroll.