IPL 2018: IPS officer, who claimed MS Dhoni's link with bookies, moves court to stop Indian Premier League

A plea has been filed before the Madras High Court to restrain the holding of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

The High Court has issued notices to the BCCI and the central government based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by IPS officer G Sampath Kumar seeking to restrain the board from conducting the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

IPL 2018 will begin from April 7. 

Police officer G Sampath Kumar urged the court to restrain the Centre and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from conducting IPL matches without putting in place precautionary measures to prevent betting and spot-fixing.

"Contrary to the Lodha Committee's report, vested interests still continue to be protected in the IPL and questions of conflict of interest remain unaddressed by the BCCI," Kumar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Kumar was involved in investigating the 2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting cases.

According to media reports, he had written a signed statement saying a bookie named Kitty claimed MS Dhoni and former Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan had taken part in a deal pertaining to illegal activity in the IPL. 

Dhoni's name reportedly figures in a sealed envelope submitted to the Supreme Court by the Mudgal Committee.

According to FirstPost, Kumar was later suspended over allegedly taking bribes from bookies accused in the IPL betting scam. After four years, he was reinstated again by the Tamil Nadu home department.

Kumar had then unearthed an international money laundering operation in which mafia don Dawood Ibrahim was reportedly involved.