(Raj Kundra at Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak temple on Tuesday with wife Shilpa Shetty)
Raj Kundra, one of the owners of the Rajasthan Royals, was questioned by the Delhi Police today for nearly six hours in connection with the betting and spot-fixing scandal that has engulfed Indian cricket. Mr Kundra is married to Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty. The couple had visited Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple last night.
Rajasthan Royals bowler Siddharth Trivedi was present during Mr Kundra's questioning. Mr Trivedi had recorded his statement in a Delhi court on Friday and has turned approver for Delhi Police in the case.
He has reportedly told the police the bookies were in touch with his arrested colleague Ajit Chandila and some others who used to party together and that some foreign cricketers used to attend these parties.
Umesh Goenka, a friend of Mr Kundra, has also been questioned by the police.
Three players from the Royals, including Test player S Sreesanth, are in custody after being accused of deliberately bowling badly in exchange for pay-offs from bookmakers.
All the accused deny any wrongdoing. Yesterday, Mr Sreesanth's bail plea was not accepted and he was asked to file a fresh bail application after the Delhi Police said tough charges would apply against 26 accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), which is usually used against crime syndicates. The police said that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who reportedly lives in Pakistan, and his associate Chhotta Shakeel, controlled the betting, and declared them accused.
The Mumbai and Delhi Police are investigating the Royals and the Chennai Super Kings for alleged involvement in illegal betting in this year's edition of the Indian Premier League or IPL, the country's top domestic competition.
The Chennai franchise is under scrutiny on account of senior management member Gurunath Meiyappan, who was arrested on May 24 for allegedly passing information to bookies and placing bets on the IPL. Mr Meiyappan was released on bail yesterday. His alleged role forced his father-in-law, N Srinivasan, to step aside as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).