Tamil Nadu: Sampath Kumar to be reinstated soon

CHENNAI: After four years of suspension of the superintendent of police G. Sampath Kumar, Tamil Nadu home department revoked it and an order has been forwarded to the police headquarters. Sources said it would be announced officially in the coming week. Following that, he would be reinstated in the service. 

However, the officer will continue to face court proceedings for the case filed by CB-CID in connection with the IPL betting scam.

Sampath Kumar, then a superintendent of police (SP) in the ‘Q’ branch of the Tamil Nadu police, was the whistleblower of IPL betting among the investigators who unearthed the bookies scam in 2013. The trail, which began with investigations by the Delhi police, subsequently led to Chennai wherein names of several prominent cricketers and then BCCI president, N. Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, surfaced to be part of the scam.

However, the CB-CID, which took over the case from Sampath Kumar, alleged that the officer, during his tenure as investigating officer, collected bribe from a few bookies to hold back the involvement of a few persons in the scam. Following a report, Sampath Kumar has been placed under suspension since February 2014.The officer had denied the charges claiming he only took a loan from one of bookies and he was being targeted for trying to expose CB-CID’s biased probe. 

He was chosen by the Supreme Court-appointed Mudgal committee to assist investigations into the IPL betting. Sources said as per court directions the CB-CID case against Sampath Kumar  will have to be completed on or before the second week of June this year.