Suspended IPS officer Sampath Kumar asks for SIT probe into IPL betting and spot-fixing case

Gurunath Meiyappan and MS Dhoni

IPS officer G. Sampath Kumar, who had earlier made damning allegations of a cover-up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting and spot fixing case, has now urged the Supreme Court to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the T20 league.

Kumar had deposed before the Justice Mukul Mudgal-led probe and claimed that Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named by bookie Utham Jain aka Kitty as a part of a spot-fixing deal that took place in IPL 2013. Kumar was suspended after he publicly named Dhoni in a statement to a news channel. The Indian skipper has also named Kumar as a respondent in a 100 crore defamation suit.

According to Sampath, investigation related to a fake passport case led him to Kitty after which he started probing the alleged spot-fixing. Sampath has also claimed in his deposition to the Mudgal Committee that he was removed from the investigating panel to prevent him from investigating further.

Kumar said in his petition: “The fact that the applicant had deposed before the probe committee appointed by this court did not find favour with certain influential sections of people who are in management of IPL and also certain officials trying their best to de-rail the investigating process and sabotage the entire probe.

“This lobby worked hard with the powers that be and the applicant was suspended without assigning any reason and the entire investigating team was transferred.”

Kumar is believed to have quoted from Nilay Dutta’s report in his petition. Dutta was one of the three members on the Mudgal Committee which has submitted its report in the IPL betting and spot-fixing case to the Supreme Court. Dutta made some serious allegations in his report against the Chennai police and their role in investigating the IPL scandal going on to even say that “there seems to be a deliberate intention to cover up the match fixing deal allegedly arrived at on 27.04.2013.”

Dutta’s report stated that there were allegations of match fixing deal concluded on the 27 April 2013 that implicated Gurunath Meiyappan, hotelier Vikram Agarwal and an “important Indian player.”

The apex court is set to hear Kumar’s plea for a SIT on April 16th when the IPL case comes up for hearing next.