Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI chief N Srinivasan, and Virendra Randhava alias Vindoo had disputes about the money they had lost or won in matches that they had placed bets on.
This was the bone of contention between lawyers defending Meiyappan and the Mumbai crime branch on Saturday, when investigating agencies were trying to get police custody for Meiyappan. The court hearing, which started around 2pm, lasted an hour.
Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime) said, “Although Meiyappan has claimed Vindoo was using him to extract information, we need to investigate revelations.”
Abad Ponda, Meiyappan’s advocate, argued with the crime branch’s contention that Meiyappan had suffered losses worth crores and instead claimed that the amount was in lakhs.
Ponda also said that Meiyappan had had a dispute with Vindoo over the loss incurred by him.
{{/usCountry}}Ponda also said that Meiyappan had had a dispute with Vindoo over the loss incurred by him.
{{/usCountry}}Further, Ponda alleged that Meiyappan’s arrest was illegal. “Despite him appearing before the police before 5pm on Friday, he was arrested without citing proper reasons,” said Ponda.
Referring to Supreme Court guidelines, Ponda said the police was compelled to first issue summons and then record a statement. “If the person honors the summons issued for inquiry, he cannot be arrested,” he argued.
Ponda also contested allegations of sharing strategic information about the team with Vindoo.
However, Wajid Shaikh, the public prosecutor contested this and said, “Police officials have strong reasons for arresting him and there is crucial evidence which shows Meiyappan’s role in the betting scandal.”