NEW DELHI, May 26: The son-in-law of India’s cricket board chief was on Sunday suspended from ‘any involvement’ in the sport pending an inquiry into his role in a spot-fixing scandal, officials said.

Gurunath Meiyappan, part of the management team of Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings, was arrested by police in Mumbai on Friday for allegedly betting on matches in connivance with bookies and a Bollywood actor.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it had taken note of Meiyappan’s detention and decided to take action, pending further investigations by the police as well as its own disciplinary committee.

“Meiyappan has been suspended by the BCCI from any involvement in the sport of cricket and in particular from any involvement with the Chennai Super Kings team,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

Jagdale added that the board will continue to offer all assistance to the police and regulatory authorities.

Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, appeared in a Mumbai court on Saturday and was remanded in police custody for four days.

Police have widened their probe into the spot-fixing scandal after Test paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals team-mates — Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila — were arrested on May 16.

The trio, who deny any wrongdoing, are accused of deliberately bowling badly in IPL matches in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars after striking deals with bookies.

On Sunday a court in New Delhi extended the police custody of the players by two more days.

India’s film industry has also been dragged into the controversy after Bollywood actor Vindu Dara Singh Randhawa was arrested last week for his alleged links to bookmakers.

The Times of India reported on Sunday that Meiyappan had passed on ‘privileged information’ such as the nature of the pitch and the batting order to Randhawa, who in turn relayed it to the bookies.

Police had telephone intercepts and other evidence to prove that Meiyappan shared information with Randhawa before matches, the daily said, quoting police sources.

Meiyappan’s arrest has led to a clamour for the sacking of Srinivasan but the BCCI chief insisted he was going nowhere. “There is nothing against me. No one has said that I have done anything wrong. I will not shirk from my duty, I will do it fairly,” he told a press conference in Kolkata on Sunday.—AFP