Suspended Modi calls probe a 'witch hunt'
New Delhi, July 27: Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi called an investigation into him a "witch hunt" ahead of a second hearing of an inquiry set up by the country's cricket board.
Modi, 46, said he was unwilling to co-operate with the board's current disciplinary panel because it was biased against him.
The panel is probing allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering around the hugely successful Twenty20 IPL tournament.
"All perceptions of witch hunt must end. Independent, unbiased inquiry a must," Modi wrote on his Twitter account late Monday.
Modi, who had skipped the previous hearing of the panel in Mumbai on July 16, was not expected to appear at the second session on Tuesday.
"If this is not a witch hunt, what is! I have always done what's the best for the IPL. It has put India on the global sports map. Am proud of achievement.
"Have always agreed to cooperate provided there is no witch hunt. Those concerned should be guardians of justice and the sport," he wrote.
Modi says two members of the panel -- lawyer-politician Arun Jaitley and businessman Chirayu Amin -- are biased. He failed with a legal challenge to stay the proceedings.
The panel has until October 25 to decide whether action should be taken against Modi, which could include his permanent expulsion from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Modi's troubles began in April when he revealed the ownership details of a new franchise set to join the tournament in 2011.
He embarrassed a high-profile member of the government, junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor, by leaking how Tharoor's girlfriend had been given a free stake in a new team.
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