da bwin： Officials of the Income-Tax department have visited the IPL offices in Mumbai on Thursday in what is being described as an “inquiry” of a preliminary nature
Cricinfo staff15-Apr-2010
Lalit Modi has said it is an I-T inquiry, and not a raid•Getty Images
The IPL has come under the scanner of India’s income-tax department with officials visiting the league’s office in Mumbai and also the office and residence of its commissioner, Lalit Modi. The activity, which is being described as an “inquiry” of a preliminary nature, comes a day after the Central Board of Direct Taxes said it had ordered an investigation of the Kochi franchise sale issue but is expected to be wider in scope.”There is an inquiry, it is not a raid,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, told . “The I-T officials are possibly looking for the details of the tender (for the Kochi team). We will extend them all possible cooperation.”The I-T department’s intervention follows several days of allegations and counter-allegations involving Rendezvous Sports World, the holding company of the Kochi franchise, the composition of its ownership and its shareholding pattern. The shareholders were named by Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, over the weekend, an action that sparked off the subsequent furore.There was some good news for Modi in a public vote of confidence from Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president and the ICC’s president-elect. Pawar told on Wednesday, Tharoor said there was no question of him resigning. Tharoor denied that his party had left him out in the cold, and added that “resigning would mean I’ve given up.”