Gurunath's police custody extended till May 31

A Mumbai court Wednesday extended till May 31 the police custody of Board of Control for Cricket in India chief N. Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for his involvement in the Indian Premier league (IPl) spot fixing scandal.

Seeking further remand of Meiyappan, police said they needed to confront him and Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh Randhawa, another accused in the case, with a Chennai hotelier Vikram Agarwal.

Agarwal, the owner of Hotel Radisson Blue in Chennai, has been ordered by the Mumbai police to appear before it on May 31 in connection with investigations into the scam. Police said Meiyappan has already been brought face-to-face with Vindoo. 

The prosecution said the duo used to communicate on telephone in "coded language" regarding matches, players and bets, and that further remand was necessary to decipher the codes.

Challenging the remand plea made by Mumbai police, Meiyappan's lawyer Harshad Ponda argued that the investigations could progress even after Meiyappan was released on bail.

However, rejecting the bail plea, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate A.M. Padwad noted that police have made progress in the investigations, and that it was necessary to give the investigators opportunity to collect all evidences in the case.Meiyappan was arrested last week for his alleged role in betting during the IPl matches, making it the most high-profile arrests in the case till date.