IPL scandal: today's 10 big developments

The Delhi Police disclosed that Raj Kundra, one of the owners of IPL team Rajasthan Royals has confessed to placing illegal bets worth one crore over the last three years.

An emergency meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been called on Monday in Delhi to discuss Mr Kundra and whether "to take any action against him," said the board's chief, Jagmohan Dalmiya.

Mr Kundra's wife, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, has denied that she placed any bets during the IPL.  She tweeted, "For those who care,my apparent involvement in betting is complete nonsense nd I have never bet on any cricket match ever.Truth will prevail."

Her husband's business partner, Umesh Goenka, allegedly told the police that she gambled on one match.

"Mr Kundra was interrogated on Wednesday.  "He admitted he put money on his own team," Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar told reporters. "We also found he lost large sums of money through betting," he said.

Law Minister Kapil Sibal told NDTV that a debate on legalizing betting should be held. 

The BCCI has announced that Sanjay Patel from Baroda is its new Secretary.  He replaces Sanjay Jagdale who resigned last week to protest against N Srinivasan, the head of the BCCI.  Mr Srinivasan was forced to step aside while an internal investigation into the scandal is completed. 

A commission of two retired high court judges will investigate the scandal, Mr Dalmiya said today.  The panel originally included Sanjay Jagdale, who quit as BCCI Secretary last week.  He is not being replaced. 

Delhi Police sources say they are unlikely to book Mr Kundra for gambling, which is a bailable offence. Instead, they want to focus on establishing links between the illegal betting scandal and the "D Company," the crime syndicate headed by don Dawood Ibrahim.

Mr Kundra and his team could face suspension from the IPL for upto five years if the charge of betting is proved against him.

BCCI rules say the penalty for betting is suspension for 2-5 years. And IPL contracts provide that a franchise can be terminated if an owner "acts in a way that brings the BCCI/IPL/game of cricket into disrepute."