Modi probe panel named by India chiefs

Junior federal minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will sit alongside politician-lawyer Arun Jaitley and businessman Chirayu Amin in the three-man committee, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced.

Scindia, 39, replaced BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who opted to step down from the panel after Modi — who faces allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering — accused him of bias.

Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi had written to the BCCI demanding that Manohar leave the committee because he had ‘reasons to believe there was some bias or prejudice against Modi’.

Jaitley and Amin are both vice-presidents of the BCCI, while Scindia, son of former Indian cricket chief Madhavrao Scindia, heads the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.

‘The disciplinary committee will decide what action must be taken against Modi,’ Manohar told reporters, without specifying the time-frame by which a decision must be made.

The BCCI, owner of the hugely popular IPL, suspended Modi after the third edition of the tournament ended in April following the raft of allegations against him, which also sparked a government investigation.

Modi, 46, has submitted written replies to the charges that include rigging bids, holding proxy stakes in teams and receiving kickbacks in return for broadcasting deals.

He is also accused of planning an IPL-style league in England without the knowledge of the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Modi has also been suspended as one of the five vice-presidents of the BCCI and removed as chairman of the T20 Champions League, a separate club tournament organised jointly by India, Australia and South Africa.

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 on Twitter how Tharoor’s girlfriend had been given a free stake in the new team.

The minister was forced to resign under pressure from the opposition, which accused him of misusing his office to secure personal gain.