Dubai: With details emerging on how bookies managed to trap cricketers in the ongoing spot-fixing investigation, the dark side of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has started to surface.
The shady manner in which the bookies operated would put anyone to shame. Though the Delhi Police initially launched an investigation to root out terrorism, it revealed that the underworld had been amassing money through spot-fixing in cricket.
The method used by bookies to trap players is simple — first, they closely observe cricketers who can be easily lured into fixing games, they identify their weaknesses and entice them through people who quickly befriend them, meeting all their requests. The ongoing probe has revealed that even women were used to lure players into accepting deals.
The CCTV footage from hotels where the cricketers stayed is likely to throw up further details about how the underworld lured them. A bookie who has been arrested is reported to have confessed that he had regularly arranged women for the cricketers.
India’s Test star Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who is now in custody, had a penchant for nightlife and late-night parties. He was, therefore, easily accessible to criminals who frequent such parties.
Post-match parties
The bookies apparently place women in rooms adjacent to cricketers in hotels so as to quickly get acquainted. Once an acquaintance is established, then the deals were stuck. Such women were readily available during IPL post-match parties.
When Sreesanth was arrested on charges of spot-fixing at Carter Road in Mumbai well past midnight, he was in the company of two women. Though the women were let off as they claimed to be Sreesanth’s friends, police are investigating their movements and connections.
A police officer said that the team had collected several photographs of models and aspiring actresses from Sreesanth’s laptop. An investigation is on to find out whether these women have any connection with the underworld and whether they acted as messengers for the bookies.
The bookies also showered expensive gifts, including watches and branded clothes, on players. Cricketer-turned-bookie Amith Singh has apparently confessed that he had given Ajit Chandila expensive watches and other gifts. A tapped phone conversation cites Chandila’s wife once asking him how he had procured so much money.
It has been found that once the cricketers indulged in spot-fixing, the bookies would threaten them if they refused to follow orders later. The transcript of a conversation between Chandila, who failed to signal to the bookies that he was going to bowl a fixed over on May 5, and a bookie highlights the authority exercised by the latter.
The IPL spot-fixing scandal has now become an eye-opener to many countries which have launched their own leagues.
