Jitendra Singh urges states to take action to curb illegal practices in sports

Sports Minister Jitendra Singh said Friday that states need to take adequate steps to combat illegal practices in sports after the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) was marred by spot-fixing.

Singh said that the central government was ready to extend full support to the states with regards to combating illegal practices in sports.

"The states have an important role to play in wake of the challenges, which are being faced by the sports. A lot of laws rest with the states. When we talk of gambling, it is not under concurrent but under state list. Therefore, states need to take up the matter. For this the Indian government, sports ministry, law ministry is there to extend all kinds of support," Singh told media here.

Indian cricket has been thrown into disarray because of the IPL spot-fixing scandal, which led to the arrest of three players, including former Test player S Sreesanth, and several bookies with underworld connections.

The scandal has reached the doorstep of BCCI President N Srinivasan, with Mumbai Police summoning his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings owner Gurunath Meiyappan for questioning after his name cropped up during the interrogation of betting suspect and Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police today rejected Meiyappan's plea to give him time till Monday to appear before its crime branch for questioning with regard to his role in betting.

Meiyappan was issued with a summons to appear before the Mumbai crime branch between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, as he was not at home to answer questions by a Mumbai police team who went to his Chennai residence on Thursday.

Meiyappan had last evening reportedly faxed a request to give him more time to join the investigation, but Mumbai Police refused to entertain his request.

"If we were going to grant an extension, we would not have personally delivered a summons all the way to Chennai," Mumbai Police said.

On Thursday it was declared that if Meiyappan failed to show up on Friday, he would be declared a fugitive from justice, and an arrest warrant could be issued in his name.

Three Chennai Super Kings players, one of them quite senior, are also reportedly under the scanner of the police and other investigating agencies after Vindoo Dara Singh revealed that he was in touch with them during the ongoing T20 season.

Vindoo Dara Singh was arrested by Mumbai Police on May 21 for betting and his alleged links to bookies, and now he is emerging as a key link in the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked Season 6 of cricket's richest tournament.