Gurunath Meiyappan and Vindoo Dara Singh have been remanded to judicial custody until June 14, a Mumbai court has ruled. Gurunath had been in police custody since his arrest on May 24, and Vindoo since May 21.
Gurunath, a top Chennai Super Kings official and son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, was arrested by Mumbai Police on charges of cheating, forgery and fraud after being summoned to Mumbai for questioning over alleged betting and links to bookies. Police investigations suggested that Vindoo, an actor, and Gurunath were in frequent telephonic contact. Vindoo was also seen in the Super Kings box at IPL matches.
Gurunath’s arrest heaped plenty of pressure on his father-in-law Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president, and at a working committee meeting on Sunday, Srinivasan said he would step aside until a commission appointed to look into the betting and spot-fixing charges in IPL 2013 completed its task.
The Chennai Super Kings also tried to distance itself from Gurunath, who was pretty much the face of the franchise till his arrest. Gurunath was suspended by the BCCI “from any involvement in the sport of cricket and in particular from any involvement with the Chennai Super Kings team” pending further investigations.