Clean chit, ugly cover-up

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New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s rush to clear the names of those allegedly involved in the spot-fixing and betting scandal in the Indian Premier League has again put the dictatorial ways of the cash-rich body in the spotlight.
In clearing the names of Chennai Super Kings’ team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and owners India Cements and Rajasthan Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra over lack of evidence as suggested by a two-member commission of retired judges of the Madras High Court, the board has shown a complete lack of intent and disregard for the ongoing police probe, and the authorities have reacted sharply to the development.
“The BCCI might have cleared them but I think the Indian cricket board should wait for the police probe to get over,” sports secretary P.K. Deb was quoted as saying here on Monday.
The board has defended its decision not to wait for the outcome of the police probes in Delhi and Mumbai to finish but has added that if anyone was convicted, it would take note. “I think we can’t depend on the police report as we had already constituted a commission and whatever the commission said is final. If anyone is convicted, the BCCI will automatically take notice and step in to take necessary action,” BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah said.
Mumbai police, under whose jurisdiction the Meiyappan case is being probed, had on Sunday itself indicated that the probe was very much on despite BCCI’s two-member panel clearing the names of those accused.
“Unless and until we interrogate Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf and the Jaipur brothers we cannot give Meiyappan a clean chit in the IPL spot-fixing case. Meiyappan had placed bets on those IPL matches too in which Rauf was the umpire, so the fixing angle has to be probed,” crime branch officials said on Monday.
The BCCI’s parallel probe was very much on its own, independent of the action by the authorities and after the Mumbai Police's refusal to send its investigation officer to depose before the panel, the outcome was not hard to predict.
Mumbai police, in reply to the refusal, said they were only acting in accordance with the criminal procedure code. “We sought to know under which procedure we should send our IO for deposition before a private panel,” an officer said on Monday as the in charge in a police case is answerable only to the court.
Former cricketer and politician Kirti Azad, on the day lashed out at the BCCI for acting in a manner as if it was above the law. “Mumbai Police has said that the investigation is still on. Delhi police is still investigating and the BCCI panel has given them a clean chit. Is BCCI above the law and constitution of the country?” Azad said on Monday.
Azad, who has been waging a long battle against corrupt practices in the Delhi District & Cricket Association, has also advocated punishment for guilty officials as well.
“Whenever something happens, players get penalised and officials walk free. It's a pity because despite all the controversies cricket is still the most popular game in the country.”