Former Test cricketer and now BJP Member of Parliament Kirti Azad on Friday said the conviction of Chennai Super Kings CEO Gurunath Meiyappan by Mumbai Police would be darkest day for Indian cricket.
Speaking to ANI, Azad said it has to be a new low in Indian cricket that the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan is involved in betting.
Azad, who was speaking after the crime branch of Mumbai Police had set a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday for Meiyappan to present himself and join the investigations linked to spot fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said the BCCI's reputation is at stake.
"I am just sad that this kind of incident takes place. No words to express when such names are taken. Until accountability is fixed, nothing can happen. If there is no transparency, what can we expect," Azad said.
"A lot of things should have happened till now. What is the legal committee doing? I fear that today when I go out, people might ask me whether my game in 1983 (World Cup) was fixed," the former cricketer said.
"The BCCI has to take some strict action as per its constitution. The more one delays, the situation will worsen. I think everyone is responsible for this. I just want to ask that if you are earning thousands of crore of money, then why don't they go to the home minister," he added.
"I will not like to criticise anyone, but I would love to give suggestions. I would suggest use of the latest equipment, the putting up of surveillance cameras. I would want the BCCI to show the intent it has shown in the last two matches to stop this muck. Everyone is getting frustrated," Azad said.
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"The government has an outrageous attitude, which will not work. There is a big question mark over the credibility of the government now," he added.
Meiyappan was issued with a summons to appear before the Mumbai crime branch between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, as he was not at home to answer questions by a Mumbai police team who went to his Chennai residence on Thursday.
Latest television reports said that he has flown to Madurai from Kodaikanal after a meeting with N. Srinivasan. He is likely to take a private chartered flight.
Meiyappan had last evening reportedly faxed a request to give him more time to join the investigation, but Mumbai Police refused to entertain his request.
"If we were going to grant an extension, we would not have personally delivered a summons all the way to Chennai," Mumbai Police said.
On Thursday it was declared that if Meiyappan failed to show up on Friday, he would be declared a fugitive from justice, and an arrest warrant could be issued in his name.
Meanwhile, Vindoo Dara Singh a.k.a. "Jack", is due to appear in court again on Friday. Mumbai Police is likely to ask the court to extend his custody.
In Delhi, three bookies are likely to be produced before a court today.
According to television reports, an international bookie, identified as Mohammad, has been arrested while attempting to escape to Dubai via Hyderabad.
Three Chennai Super Kings players, one of them quite senior, are also reportedly under the scanner of the police and other investigating agencies after Vindoo Dara Singh revealed that he was in touch with them during the ongoing T20 season.
Mumbai Police said that they are still verifying the authenticity of Vindoo's claims.
Mumbai's Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Himanshu Roy, however, refused to reveal the identities of the cricketers.
The police might question the players once they corroborate Vindoo's claims, sources said.
Vindoo Dara Singh was arrested by Mumbai Police on May 21 for betting and his alleged links to bookies, and now he is emerging as a key link in the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked Season 6 of cricket's richest tournament.
His interrogation has brought the fixing scandal to the door of Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by India's cricket board chief N.Srinivasan.
According to other media reports,Meiyappan has always had links with bookies of Chennai and Dubai.
Media reports quoted N Srinivasan's disgruntled 44-year-old son Ashwin, as saying: "Guru had several connections with known bookies from Chennai and Dubai and was regularly in touch with them even before the IPL started."
"What began as a relatively smaller side-business became a full-fledged one over the years," he added.
Ashwin also claimed that Guru was steadily increasing his foothold over his father's business.
He accused Guru of purposely poisoning his parents' mind to ensure that the rift between them widens.
