Spot-fixing: Raj Kundra,Shilpa Shetty placed bets on matches,says police
Police sources claimed that Kundra was into betting but not into fixing.
Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty had placed bets on a cricket match on at least one occasion,a friend of the Bollywood actors husband Raj Kundra has told Delhi Police investigators.
This man,a businessman named Umesh Goenka,was questioned over four days by the Delhi Police Special Cell this week after Royals cricketer Siddharth Trivedi told investigators that Goenka frequently asked him for information on team composition and pitch conditions during the IPLs sixth season. Trivedi is now a witness for the police.
Goenka has said in his statement that Shilpa placed bets once, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told The Indian Express on Thursday evening. Goenka himself is a bookie,and we are investigating his links with the other leaders of the betting syndicate whom we have identified, Kumar said.
Earlier on Thursday,Kumar had confirmed that Shilpas husband Kundra who was questioned for over 12 hours by the Special Cell on Wednesday had been heavily involved in betting on cricket matches.
Amid a storm of angry tweets by the actor,accusing the media of casting aspersions and making derogatory statements,Kumar told ANI that Kundra placed bets through Goenka,including on the performance of his own team. Kundra had also suffered heavy losses in the process,Kumar said.
The Delhi Police said they did not intend to immediately arrest Kundra because their investigation was focussed on spot- and match-fixing,and not betting. This line is different from the one taken by Mumbai Police,who arrested CSK team principal Gurunath Meiyappan only on suspicion of betting.
Police have,however,seized Kundras passport,and asked him to be available whenever he is called.
Sources in the police claimed Kundra had confessed to interrogators that he had been betting for the past three years,and had so far lost around a crore of rupees. Kundra had been called in after Goenka told investigators that he had bet on Kundras behalf,the sources said.
The sources said Shilpa Shettys name figures at least once in the statement that Goenka has recorded before a magistrate. Goenka has not,however,specified the match for which Shilpa had allegedly asked him to place bets,the sources said.
On Thursday evening,as reports of Shilpas alleged involvement in betting began to surface,the actor tweeted,For those who care,my apparent involvement in betting is complete nonsense and I have never bet on any cricket match ever. Truth will prevail.
She then tweeted,Wont be saying anymore as the case is sub-judice.
Investigators were Thursday checking Kundras links,if any,with other bookies who were aware of spot-fixing in the IPL. The police have sought details of the bank account of Kundra and Goenka.
Goenka has allegedly told police that he started following the IPL from the tournaments fourth edition in 2011. He was given match passes by Kundra. Goenka has confessed that he was given instructions on betting by Kundra himself. Goenka has now become a bookie. This fact has been confirmed by Kundra in his interrogation, a senior Special Cell officer said.
Police said Goenka was born in Sikkim and started his career as a businessman dealing in sponge iron. He later got into share brokerage where he suffered losses,before moving to London where he become good friends with Kundra. He is believed to have returned to India in 2008,and started a steel business. Police said Goenka also bet on Bollywood movies.
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