IAS officer lands in cricket betting row

Weeks after senior IPS officer Alok Kumar was suspended in connection with the single-digit lottery scam, top IAS officer Kapil Mohan is now in the eye of a controversy with regard to a cricket betting racket.

Based on the information provided by two bookies arrested by the Hubballi police, the CID and Income Tax officials searched a 6th floor flat of Maple Block at Golden Grand properties in Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru recently and found Rs 4.37 crore cash, gold and diamonds worth crores and property documents.

The seized documents had names of Kapil Mohan, his wife Dr Ruchi Saxena, his father Naresh Mohan and PSK Finance Solutions Private Limited. There were also bills and receipts for the investment of gold and money with various firms by the three. Naresh Mohan is the director of PSK Finance Solutions Private Limited, official sources said. Kapil Mohan is now principal secretary, youth empowerment and sports department.

The I-T department and Enforcement Directorate are likely to submit a detailed report to CID regarding the source of Rs 4.37 crore unaccounted money. The CID suspects that cricket betting could be a source of the seized money.

When contacted, Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee said: “We are awaiting the report from the investigating agencies. Based on the report, we will initiate strict action. The Enforcement Directorate can also book a case, so we are waiting and watching. The government has already acted tough in the instance of IPS officer Alok Kumar, who is also Kapil Mohan’s colleague. We will do the same again.”
The CID has decided not to question Kapil Mohan until a case is registered. The CID, however, has informed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister K J George and DG&IGP Omprakash about the development.

Some senior IPS officers might face an inquiry if the CID registers a case in this regard and takes up the probe. The officers have been part of a massive cricket betting racket over the last 15  years. They have been nurturing a bookie who takes care of North Karnataka region, sources added.

The police had recently arrested bookies Arjun and Heerachand from Hubballi. The duo disclosed about Rs 4.5 crore cash and valuables kept in a flat in Yeshvanthapur in Bengaluru. During the search conducted at the flat on August 5, 2015, officials seized 42 CDs, a hard disk, an external data storage, 40,900 currency notes of Rs 1,000 denomination and 5,700 notes of Rs 500 denomination, together worth Rs 4.37 crore.

“We wanted to know source of the money and who owns the flat. We have seized documents pertaining to valuables, but not the flat and the money. Hence, we requested the I-T Department to submit a report." sources said.