Chennai:
Visiting cards allegedly found during searches at the Chennai home of Gurunath Meiyappan describe him as the Team Principal of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings or CSK. But India Cements, which owns the team, has said he is just an honorary member. And the man who heads India's cricket board, N Srinivasan, says Mr Meiyappan was merely an "enthusiastic" supporter who traveled with the team.
Gurunath Meiyappan is Mr Srinivasan's son-in-law and has been arrested on charges of betting. Mr Meiyappan's role in CSK has been under intense scrutiny, amid rising pressure on his father-in-law to resign for what is being seen by many as a massive conflict of interest. Mr Srinivasan has ruled out resigning.
In an eight-hour-long search at Mr Meiyappan's home yesterday, the police reportedly recovered CSK auction lists, envelopes and a diary with the team's insignia, and T-shirts bearing the team's logo, apart from the 190 visiting cards.
What the police are looking for, sources said, are the mobile phones that they allege Mr Meiyappan used to place bets. Those have not been found yet and the police will continue their searches today.
Mr Meiyappan was arrested on Saturday after being named by Vindoo Dara Singh, a small-time actor who has been arrested for alleged links with bookies suspected of spot-fixing IPL games. Mr Singh has allegedly told the police that he placed bets on behalf of Mr Meiyappan, who has been remanded to police custody till May 29.
The police alleges that Mr Meiyappan has told them Vindoo Dara Singh lured him into betting. Mumbai police on Sunday 'confronted' CSK Mr Meiyappan with the actor during questioning about IPL betting rackets. "Gurunath and Vindoo were today made to sit face-to-face and were questioned," a senior Crime branch official said.
A 'Team Principal' is a top member in team management. The Chennai Super Kings is the most successful team across the six editions of the Indian Premier League. In yesterday's final it lost to the Mumbai Indians by 23 runs.