NEW DELHI, Jun 6: The IPL spot-fixing scandal today took a sensational turn with Delhi Police claiming that Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra has admitted to placing bets on his team while his actress-wife Shilpa Shetty is likely to be questioned shortly on similar charges.
A day after Kundra was questioned for about 11 hours, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said, “he (Kundra) has admitted to betting. He used to bet on his own team. We have also come to know that he has lost a lot of money in betting. He used to bet through Goenka, who is also a bookie.”
However, he said they were not in a position to arrest Kundra right now because police did not have evidence other than his own confession to investigators which is not admissible in court.
“We don’t have any other evidence. Suppose we have on tape his talk with bookies and if we recover some money then that is strong evidence,” he said.
On Shetty, top sources said she is likely to be called for questioning soon.
S N Srivastava, Special Commissioner (Special Cell), said Goenka in his statement before a magistrate informed that he used to place bets for Kundra besides making a reference to Shetty that she also placed bets “once”.
“During questioning, Kundra has mentioned that he was placing bets for the last three years and the amount that he lost, all put together, was to be around Rs one crore,” he said.
“It is in the statement (of Goenka that Shetty placed bets). We have not gone ahead and verified it as of now. But then we are in the process of verification,” he said.
Police claimed that it had evidence that the 38-year-old actress had indulged in betting in one of the IPL matches in the just concluded season.
However, they said that they had no evidence of her indulging in spot-fixing.
Investigators also claimed Kundra (36) told them that he lost around Rs one crore in the past three years in betting in IPL matches. However, police said they have no evidence yet to implicate Kundra in fixing matches.
Police also said Rajasthan Royals owner and her husband Raj Kundra has admitted to placing bets on his IPL team through a bookie-friend.
Investigators also claimed Kundra (36) told them that he lost around Rs one crore in the past three years in betting in IPL matches. However, police said they have no evidence yet to implicate Kundra in fixing matches.
Late in the night Kundra tweeted he was “not involved in any wrongdoings” while his said allegations about her involvement in betting is “complete nonsense” and that she has “never bet on any cricket match ever”.
Kundra, a British national, was questioned for 11 hours yesterday after cricketer Sidharth Trivedi (30) told police that his business partner-friend Umesh Goenka (36) used to ask for information regarding team formation and pitches.
Srivastava said he cannot give a timeline on when Kundra will be called again.
In Kolkata, Jagmohan Dalmiya, chief of the interim BCCI arrangement, said that the Kundra issue will be discussed at the BCCI emergency meeting on June 10 in New Delhi.
“Raj Kundra issue will be discussed in the Working Committee, which is going to be held on June 10 and after we hear the details, if it demands any strict action, we will look into it,” Dalmiya said.
If Delhi police claims are to be believed, Kundra started betting in IPL matches after getting 11.7 per cent stake in Rajasthan Royals in the third edition of the T20 tournament.
Police have confiscated the passports of Kundra and Goenka to ensure that they do not leave the country during investigations. Kundra has since flown back to Mumbai and will be quizzed again soon. (PTI)
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