Cricketgate: cops seize Raj Royals co-owner Kundra’s passport

The Delhi police have seized the passport of Raj Kundra, co-owner of Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals, and he has been asked not to leave the country till the IPL spot-fixing probe is over.

"We have seized Kundra's passport so he doesn't go out of the country till the fixing probe is over. We will be questioning him further," a police official said.

Kundra is a British national, with businesses in Dubai, Ukraine and Botswana.

Both he and his wife, actress Shilpa Shetty, meanwhile slammed the media on their social networking sites for creating ''concocted'' news about Kundra and his possible arrest.(See: Cricketgate: Kundra, Shilpa blast media for 'concocted' reports)

A police officer said, "Kundra's role is very important in the Rajasthan Royals team. We are yet to decide on his arrest. It will be known only after further questioning." the official added.

He was questioned for more than 10 hours on Wednesday.

According to police, Kundra's business partner Umesh Goenka might be questioned again in connection with the spot-fixing case.

The questioning also came following the claims made by a cricketer Sidharth Tiwari, and as the police want to know more about the ownership pattern of the team.

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

According to one report, police sources said that Kundra was into betting but not into fixing. Their questioning was basically into betting, they said.

Delhi Police have arrested 26 people in the case, including Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan. These people were on Tuesday booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which will make it harder for them to get bail (See: Cricketgate: Sreesanth, teammates hit for MCOCA sixer).

Altogether, some 60 people have been arrested across the country in connection with the spot-fixing scam.

While 23 people arrested by the Delhi police have been sent to judicial custody, two of them, Chavan and Sreesanth's friend Abhishek Shukla, are on bail and bookie Tinku Mandy has been handed over to the Mumbai Police.