Is VB Chandrasekhar's suicide related to Tamil Nadu Premier League betting allegations?

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) made news on Monday, September 16, due to bookies being allegedly involved in the tournament. According to reports, the BCCI has started an investigation into allegations of corruption at TNPL. The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the cricket board, which leads the investigation, said some players have reported that they were approached by bookies for match-fixing during the league.

A senior officer of Chennai police told The Times of India that the information regarding corruption in TNPL was discovered by them while investigating the suicide of former Indian cricketer VB Chandrasekhar, who died on August 15. He was an owner of one of the TNPL teams.

The officer said they got a hint of a possible betting racket in the state-based cricketing league, though it was not directly related to the Chandrasekhar's death. He further added that they have forwarded the information to their colleagues in Mumbai and Delhi.

"Though those were not directly related to the suicide case, we recorded some of the important facts and passed on to our colleagues in Mumbai and Delhi," the senior official said.

The police also added that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) officials had received several letters regarding the betting scam and a few names were circulated in a closed WhatsApp group which prompted them to look into the case.

ACU head Ajit Singh told TOI that no players or team owners are being investigated and they are continuing the probe on the basis of what the players told them.

"No players or team owners are being investigated. There were certain players who were approached and they reported it to us. On the basis of what they've told us, we're trying to find out who are the people who approached the players. The fact that the players have reported these approaches does not mean that there's an investigation against them," Singh said. 

VB Chandrasekhar was the owner of VB Kanchi Veerans from the TNPL and the manager of Chennai-based Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings. The former Indian right-handed batsman, who has represented the country in seven ODIs, used to play first-class cricket for Tamil Nadu and later on for Goa. The former cricketer was found dead hanging in his room which shook the entire cricketing world.

Indian cricketers like Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay are associated with the TNPL, which is one of the most followed state-based cricketing leagues in India.