Police to proceed against Pak umpire Rauf in betting scandal

Mumbai police intend to get Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf back to India by seeking issuance of Letters Rogatory following revelations about his alleged association with bookies involved in IPL betting scandal, city's crime chief Himanshu Roy said here today.
"He (Rauf) has associated himself with bookies in a manner that brings him under suspicion and so we are proceeding against him... Including issuing Letters Rogatory," Roy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), told reporters.
A Letters Rogatory is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance.
Rauf was said to have left India on May 21, the day actor Vindoo Randhawa was arrested for his alleged role in the betting scam.

Crime branch officials said that Rauf was "constantly in touch" with Vindoo and two absconding bookies - Sanjay and Pavan Jaipur.
Vindoo, according to crime branch, had facilitated the escape of Sanjay and Pawan to Dubai as bookies across the country faced the heat following the arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players including India pacer S Sreesanth for spot-fixing IPL matches.
A SIM card given to Rauf by Sanjay was destroyed at the instance of Vindoo before the actor's arrest in the IPL betting case. Rauf used the SIM card during his stay in India over the last three years.

Crime branch sources said their team was searching the residence and offices of Vikram Agarwal, owner of Radisson Blu hotel in Chennai, who has emerged as a key link between bookies and Bollywood celebrities. He was said to have known Chennai Super Kings owner Gurunath Meiyappan, also arrested in the case, for the last 15 years and was close to Vindoo.