IPL scam: Raj Kundra almost got off the hook

NEW DELHI: Banned from all cricket-related activities in India by a Supreme Court committee headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra had his heart in his mouth in 2013 when Delhi Police started probing him, but he ultimately left the Capital smiling.
The special cell of Delhi Police, which unearthed the 'spot-fixing' racket and stumbled upon franchise owners/officials indulging in betting, questioned Kundra, got confirmation of his betting from his business partner Umesh Goenka but didn't book him.For the special cell, it was tricky to book Kundra under the Gambling Act as there was no "solid evidence", then commissioner of police Neeraj Kumar, who spearheaded the IPL cleaning campaign, had said.
Kumar went on to say that Kundra "had confessed to placing bets on his team" and that "he had lost a lot of money on bets". Delhi Police had claimed that Kundra placed bets through Umesh Goenka. During his questioning, Kundra reportedly told the police that "being a British national, he was unaware of the fact that betting was illegal in India".
Delhi Police didn't want to get involved in 'betting' cases as their Mumbai counterparts were probing these at the time with the arrest of Vindu Dara Singh and Gurunath Meiyappan.
Instead, the Delhi anti-terror sleuths shot off a letter to Rajasthan Police about possible involvement of Kundra in betting, leaving the ball in their court. Neeraj Kumar, who is now part of BCCI's anti-corruption unit, had said, "We don't have evidence against Raj Kundra, so can't arrest him."
In fact, the special cell had found while examining Goenka that even Kundra's wife Shilpa Shetty had placed a bet of Rs 1 lakh during one of the matches in IPL 6. These allegations were never brought by Delhi Police on record.
Sources said Delhi Police's investigation report and statements were used by the Justice R M Lodha committee while giving its verdict on Tuesday.
Reacting on his suspension, Kundra said on Wednesday that he was "wronged", while terming it as "unfair" that the whole team was "harshly treated" for the actions of one individual.
"Today is a very depressing and sad day for me as my integrity has been questioned and my support in this investigation seems to have backfired. While I have great respect for the Supreme Court and the judicial system, unfortunately, in this case, I cannot but feel that I have been wronged," Kundra said in a statement.