The heat is being turned on the Indian Premier League. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the probe into the funding of the Twenty20 tournament has already started and “no (one) guilty or wrong-doer” will be spared.

“The concerned department has already started the investigation process. All aspects, including sources of funding and routes through which the funds arrived, would be looked into. Appropriate action as per law would be taken,” he said.

Mukherjee’s assurance came after the Left, BJP, RJD, SP and JD-U slammed the IPL as a “betting and gambling ring” allegedly involving foreign funds, black money and money laundering. Some even sought a complete ban on it. The opposition parties demanded a government takeover of the IPL and a joint parliamentary committee probe into its funding.

The full impact of Mukherjee’s remarks will be felt as the income tax department, Enforcement Directorate and economic intelligence wings unravel what the opposition dubbed murky goings on in the cricketing league body.

Sources have told that Lalit Modi will be sacked as Indian Premier League (IPL) chief and action against him is likely at the IPL governing council meet to be held soon.

The sources said BCCI president Shashank Manohar is likely to take over as IPL chairman.

Modi will face charges for arm-twisting franchises. Tharoor had alleged that Modi delayed signing the Kochi tender for a month.

There is also some bad news for all IPL owners. The government will probe the source of funds of all teams and possible foreign exchange violations.Sources have told NDTV that Lalit Modi will be sacked as Indian Premier League (IPL) chief and action against him is likely at the IPL governing council meet to be held soon.

The sources said BCCI president Shashank Manohar is likely to take over as IPL chairman.

Modi will face charges for arm-twisting franchises. Tharoor had alleged that Modi delayed signing the Kochi tender for a month.

There is also some bad news for all IPL owners. The government will probe the source of funds of all teams and possible foreign exchange violations.

The Income Tax Department is well into its inquiry and has sent summons to the BCCI seeking details of the IPL franchisees. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) too has started its probe. It has set up eight teams to probe foreign exchange violations by IPL. The ED will also scan transactions and flow of IPL funds.

As Parliament raises the issue of who’s funding the Indian Premier League (IPL), and how, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has announced that the crores poured into the billion-dollar league are now being investigated, one cricket team at a time.

“The concerned department has already started investigation process (into the IPL episode). All aspects including sources of funding and routes through which the funds arrived would be looked into. Appropriate action as per law would be taken. No guilty or wrong-doer will be spared,” Mukherjee said in Parliament.

Here’s what the investigators want to look into the detailed ownership structure:

* The source of funds
* Any possible foreign exchange violations
* Or violations in foreign investment rules
* They also want to know where the owners took shareholders’ approval

An aggressive Opposition has made clear that the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as Minister of State for External Affairs is not enough. A thorough probe is needed into the entire league.

Sources say that with listed companies and issues of corporate governance involved, there is a strong case for action - one premised on basics like whether provisions of company law have been violated, or whether shareholder approval was sought by IPL team owners.

While it’s the bankrolling of the IPL and the BCCI that’s become the big question, the biggest target of tax and other inquiries could be IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.

It’s Modi’s tweets that unleashed the drama that took Tharoor, a minister, hostage for a week, before he resigned under considerable pressure from his own party on Sunday night. His link to the Kochi IPL team, auctioned last month, proved to be indefensible, say party sources.

Modi tweeted last Monday that the ownership of the Kochi franchise was murky; he pointed out that Sunanda Pushkar, Tharoor’s girlfriend, was a part of the consortium and had been gifted equity worth Rs 70 crores. Tharoor was charged by the Opposition with misusing his office to lobby for the Kochi team-owners, and of using Pushkar as a Rs 70-crore front.  Although he told NDTV he would not resign, Tharoor was forced to quit after his party made it clear that his link to the Kochi franchise had been inappropriate.

The Income Tax Department is well into its inquiry and has sent summons to the BCCI seeking details of the IPL franchisees. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) too has started its probe. It has set up eight teams to probe foreign exchange violations by IPL. The ED will also scan transactions and flow of IPL funds.

As Parliament raises the issue of who’s funding the Indian Premier League (IPL), and how, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has announced that the crores poured into the billion-dollar league are now being investigated, one cricket team at a time.

Sources say Modi may be asked to quit as IPL Commissioner. The IPL’s governing council, which is reportedly against Modi, is meeting later this month. It will be followed by a meeting of the BCCI  Working Committee, where a final call is likely to be made.

Within the IPL’s governing council, Modi’s three biggest detractors are IPL vice-president Niranjan Shah, BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan, BCCI secretary.

Those still rooting for Modi are former cricketers Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

Taking the middle path, for now, are Rajiv Shukla, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.