Prosecutors planning to invoke MCOCA on all IPL spot-fixers

Prosecutors in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing case are planning to invoke Maharastra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on all of the accused, including cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, after unearthing an underworld link.

If this is done, the case will move to a special MCOCA court. The police can thus get a 30-day custody of the accused, as opposed to the present 14-day limit, and the chargesheet can be filed in as many as six months.

Earlier today, Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI chief N Srinivasan and actor Vindoo Dara Singh were granted bail by a court here on Tuesday in connection with their respective roles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting and spot-fixing case.

The bail was granted for an amount of Rs.25,000 each. Both of the accused have also been instructed not to leave the country, and told to surrender their passports to the concerned authorities.

Meiyappan and Vindoo have also been asked to visit the Mumbai Crime Branch Office at least twice a week.

Meiyappan was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the IPL, which is the subject of multiple police investigations.

The BCCI had earlier announced that a three-member inquiry commission will investigate spot-fixing and betting allegations against arrested players and also Meiyappan, who has been arrested by the police over charges of betting in IPL matches.

Three players of Rajasthan Royals team S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila as well as over a dozen of bookies have so far been arrested on suspicion of spot-fixing in the IPL matches.

Chavan was granted conditional bail till June 6 for his wedding by a Delhi Court.