THREE BOOKIES HELD AS POLICE SUSPECT IPL MATCH ‘FIXED’

Three bookies were arrested in an early Thursday morning operation from the hotel in which Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils teams were staying hours after they clashed at Kanpur’s Green Park stadium in the ongoing IPL series, police said. Five phones and ~40.90 lakh were seized from the accused.

The three bookies — Ramesh Nayan Shah, a businessman from Thane, Ramesh Kumar of Chunnigunj in Kanpur and Vikas Chauhan of Pukhrayan, Kanpur Dehat — were arrested from the hotel in Civil Lines.

Ramesh Kumar, who has a contract to put up hoardings in the main ground, had booked the room for Shah. A case has been registered against the three men with Kotwali police, which produced him in a local court that sent them to jail.

According to police, Shah was in touch with Bunty, a racket kingpin from Ajmer, to whom he used to pass on information following which bets were placed. A police team was conducting raids in Ajmer to arrest Bunty.

During questioning, Shah allegedly disclosed names of two players of Gujarat Lions with whom he was in touch.

He had sent a WhatsApp message to Bunty naming both of them, claiming that they were ‘set’ and would do as asked, said police sources.

In one WhatsApp message, Shah mentioned specifically that Gujarat Lions would lose the match even after scoring 200 runs.

Police are withholding the names of the two players but they could be questioned soon.

The BCCI’s anti-corruption unit was keeping an eye on the bookies for three days, said sources. The information was passed onto Kanpur police late on Wednesday night following which a team from crime branch arrested the trio.

On the field, the Delhi Daredevils managed to surpass the Gujarat Lions’s steep target of 196, courtesy a gritty knock from youngster Shreyas Iyer, who managed to steer his side to a win but fell agonisingly short of a century.