Police detain two betting suspects ahead of T20 match

DEHRADUN: In a suspected case of betting in the three-match T20 series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh here, police detained two men who on Saturday approached an Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) official and sought details about the match at the Rajiv Gandhi i nternational cricket stadium.

Dehradun, a designated ‘home ground’ for Afghanistan, hosted the first game on Sunday.

The two men were detained for questioning after the ACB official grew suspicious and informed the police in the stadium. Police said the two were about 30 years old, but didn’t reveal their identity.

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police, Nivedita Kukreti, said the two men were questioned by police on Saturday and that they were released after questioning. The official denied they were bookies.

“Yes, two youth were detained for questioning after t hey approached the ACB official identified as Basheer. No players were present in the stadium during that time. One of the youth works in an NGO while the other hails from Delhi. Police also verified their details and found no bookie connection with them. Further investigations are on,” Kukreti said.

Illegal betting in the game is in focus after the Thane police took up investigation on heavy betting on the Indian Premier League a few days ago.

A bookie, Sonu Jalan, has been arrested with five others in the probe related to betting of hundreds of crores of rupees over the past five years. Bollywood actorproducer Arbaaz Khan was detained for questioning in connection with the case and Thane police said he had admitted to bet- ting heavily on IPL matches, losing almost ~3 crore.

In Dehradun, a person privy to the match arrangements said: “They (the two men) approached an ACB official present at the stadium and started inquiring about the match.”

He said initially the official answered their queries but then “grew suspicious when the two asked him about the players to be picked for the first T20.”