Raj Kundra ‘has confessed to betting
The Delhi Police commissioner told the media on Thursday that during his 11-hour interrogation on Wednesday, Kundra has confessed to placing bets on his team winning. He said Kundra has lost a lot of money on bets, which other police officers estimate it to be around Rs 1 crore in the last three IPL seasons. He also said that Kundra would place his bets through Umesh Goenka, Kundra’s business partner, whom the commissioner described as a “bookie”.
Kundra and his wife Shilpa Shetty went back to Mumbai on Thursday as Delhi police was undecided on whether to slap the anti-gambling laws against Kundra. Police sources said Kundra was betting for the past three years while his friend Umesh Goenka has been betting in matches for past 6-7 years and was also in touch with several bookies. The cops are now trying to ascertain whether the Kundra-Goenka betting link was in any way connected with spot-fixing.
Kundra admitted to betting in the past two-three seasons and even placed bets on some RR matches. However, Kundra claimed he lost a lot of money. “So far, there is no evidence to suggest that he was into spot fixing. We are probing the role of his partner Umesh Goenka in the spot fixing chain as he had access to players’ rooms and frequently visited post-IPL match parties
RR medium pacer Siddharth Trivedi unravelled the ‘Kundra connection’ after he turned approver and named Goenka in his statement before a Magistrate on May 31, sources said. Goenka allegedly sought details of the pitch and team members from Trivedi during many RR matches.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, appointed to run the BCCI’s affairs, said the board’s working committee would discuss the issue at its meeting on Monday.
