IPL betting scam: Senior cop’s suspension revoked

CHENNAI: Four years after superintendent of police G Sampath Kumar was placed under suspension in connection with the IPL betting scam, the Tamil Nadu home department has revoked the order. However, he will continue to face court proceedings in the case filed by the CB-CID.
An official in the home department confirmed revoking of Sampath Kumar’s suspension and said the order had been forwarded to police headquarters.
There will be an official announcement in the coming week, said the official, adding that Sampath Kumar will be reinstated in a vacant post.
Police sources said Sampath Kumar exposed the IPL betting scam when he was an SP in the ‘Q’ branch but he was subsequently transferred as SP, railways.
K Ramanujam, then a DGP, ordered his suspension on February 27, 2014, over charges that he had collected money from bookies involved in the IPL betting case.
Sampath Kumar had deposed before the Mudgal Committee, which was appointed to probe the IPL betting and spot-fixing scam, and sought that the investigation of the case involving him be transferred to another agency.
Another DGP at the time, K Radhakrishnan, was appointed to inquire into the issue. He submitted a report clearing Sampath Kumar of the allegation of collecting money from bookies. The officer, however, found fault with him for interacting with media without getting permission from higher-ups.
In November 2017, Justice Jeyachandran of the Madras high court refused to quash a chargesheet filed against Sampath Kumar for allegedly taking money from bookies and ordered that the trial be completed within six months.
The court had directed the CB-CID to produce all the 84 witnesses before the special court for corruption cases on the Madras high court campus.