After 12-hours of questioning, Delhi cops seize Raj Kundra's passport

Rajasthan Royals’ owner Raj Kundra is facing the heat in the IPL spot-fixing scandal after his passport was seized by the Delhi Police. This follows a gruelling 12-hour questioning session yesterday in connection to the ownership pattern of the team.

A senior Delhi Police official refused to clear the air on Kundra, who said he owns 11.7 per cent stake in Rajasthan Royals, whether he is a “suspect or complainant”, stating he was an “important person” needed for questioning.

The questioning of both Kundra and his business partner-friend Umesh Goenka began around 10 am yesterday and continued till late in the evening. Sources said the name of Goenka, with whom Kundra owns a company dealing in steel business, came during the recording of statement of Rajasthan Royal player Sidharth Trivedi, a prosecution witness in the case.

In his statement recorded before a magistrate, sources said, Trivedi claimed that Goenka approached him and sought details about the cricket pitch in Ahmedabad and details about team formations. According to police sources, Kundra was called over phone to appear before investigators who wanted to ask about the ownership details of Rajasthan Royals.

“Kundra told police that he owned 11.7 per cent while Suresh Chelaram, co-brother of Lalit Modi owned 43 per cent and Manoj Badale has 34 per cent. Rupert Murdoch’s son Lalchan Murdoch also has stake in the team,” a senior police official said.

Kundra, a British national, has 42 per cent stake in the steel business with Goenka who has 16 per cent shares in the firm, they said.

“Kundra did not have much to say about the players. When we told him that as the owner, he has to ensure that players do not get in touch with unscrupulous elements as per BCCI instructions, he said the cricketers were adults and many times they took guests inside hotels saying they were personal friends,” the official said.

Asked whether they were treating Kundra as a suspect, the official said, “we are neutral about him now. We are interrogating him. Goenka was close to Kundra. Kundra has invited Goenka for after-match parties. Goenka used to meet players,” he said.

However, Kundra seemed pretty unperturbed by the way he tweeted after the questioning session: “It’s been a long tiring day. Kudos to Delhi crime branch Mr Sanjeev Yadav DCP, Mr Manishi Chandra ACP, Mr Srivastav CP, Mr M M Oberoi for their fantastic in-depth operation into this whole spot-fixing saga! These guys are the real heroes cleaning up cricket in India,” he wrote on the micro-blogging website.

With inputs from PTI