The BCCI tamasha panel finds fault with none of the criminals but only the police in the IPL spot-fixing scam–from the whole BCCI management lead by Srini, to his team CSK, and other team Rajasthan Royals and even Meiyappan.
A shameless N Srinivasan is all set to return to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) again, after a two-member panel set up by him cleared his name as well as team onwed by him Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
To be fair, it also cleared the Rajasthan Royals team and even Meiyappan of the spot-fixing charges during IPL-6 due to lack of ‘evidence.’ The panel, comprising retired Madras HC judges T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian, submitted its report to the working committee of the board in Kolkata yesterday.
The commission said the question to be decided was whether the arrest of Meiyappan for betting had a bearing on the involvement of India Cements and correspondingly Srinivasan and it was found that it did not. The panel held that there was no evidence to suggest that India Cements, owner of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was either directly or indirectly involved in “betting” or “spot-fixing.”
"The report mentioned that no concrete evidence was found against CSK, Rajasthan Royals, Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra as far as their involvement in fixing was concerned," BCCI treasurer Ravi Savant said. The working committee has forwarded the report to the IPL governing council, which will take the final decision, he added. It is learnt that Srinivasan could be back in charge as early as August 2, when the IPL governing council meets in Delhi.
Srinivasan had to "step aside" as BCCI president on June 2, after his son-in-law and CSK mentor Meiyappan was arrested for his alleged involvement in the row. The report suggested that Meiyappan may have placed bets through actor Vindoo Dara Singh, but the police probe did not find sufficient proof to find him guilty.
"The report says while Meiyappan is a shareholder of India Cements, there is nothing to suggest that he held any influence within the CSK. Moreover, the police investigation hasn't found any proof, apart from recordings of telephone conversations, that Meiyappan was involved in betting or fixing," said a source in the board.
"We received the report of the probe commission only this morning. The governing council is the proper forum in this case and so the working committee decided to forward the matter to them. The report will be made public in due time," said the board's interim head Jagmohan Dalmiya. He added that Rajiv Shukla was eligible to chair the IPL governing council meeting as the BCCI hasn't accepted his resignation and has asked him to continue.
The working committee also discussed the report of Ravi Sawani, BCCI's anti-corruption unit chief, on the three Rajasthan Royals players, S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, who were suspended for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing. "We discussed the matter but as one player, Chandila, is still in custody, the probe couldn't be completed. We will wait for sometime and then proceed accordingly," said Dalmiya.
The report says there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Though the BCCI had appointed its secretary, Sanjay Jagdale, as a third member, after he resigned his post, the two members went ahead with the enquiry and held the commission’s first sitting on June 21.
The the trial court itself, while granting bail to Meiyappan, had recorded a finding that the accused was involved only in betting and there was no material to show his involvement in match-fixing and “we can’t go beyond what the judicial verdict had given against him.” “There was no evidence to suggest the involvement of Srinivasan, regarding the allegation of ‘betting’ or ‘spot fixing’.
Meiyappan's arrest created a crisis for his father-in-law, who had to temporarily step down, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the BCCI from 2001-2004, was appointed interim chief of the board. The arrest came after paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two teammates of the Rajasthan Royals team – Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – were taken into custody.
