Probe gives clean chit to Sundar Raman

Former Indian Premier League chief operating officer Sundar Raman was on Monday given a clean chit by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee in the 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal, citing lack of evidence.

The committee, headed by retired Supreme Court chief justice R.M. Lodha, said there was no need for any action against him as none of the seven allegations have been susbstantiated.

“There was not enough evidence against Sundar Raman and no knowledge of him knowing Vindoo (Dara Singh),” said Justice Lodha while reading out parts of the report he submitted to the Supreme Court here on Monday.

He added, “However, having regard to the duties and responsibilities of Sundar Raman as chief operating officer, his omission to report to the IPL governing council was a wrong decision and not expected of a COO of IPL. We have no material to infer that the said decision was motivated.”

The report, which deals with various aspects relating to the functioning of the BCCI, was also placed before the Supreme Court and the BCCI and would be considered by the bench headed by chief justice T.S. Thakur at a later stage.

There were allegations of 350 telephone contacts between Raman and actor Vindoo Dara Singh, but the report said evidence revealed by the investigating team showed calls/SMS between them was on only 15 occasions and no telephone calls between the two during the 2013 IPL.

“There were no telephone calls between them during IPL 2013. There is no evidence on record to show that Sundar Raman had the knowledge of Vindoo Dara Singh being a bookie or indulging in betting.”