New Delhi: More and more claims surrounding the spot-fixing scandal were made on Friday as the three arrested players allegedly confessed to the crime.

Even as police sources said they stumbled on the spot-fixing racket after they recorded the phone calls of aides of Tiger Memon with bookies, they also found out that one of the players was told to rope in others in the scheme.

According to police, Ajit Chandila, who along with his Rajasthan Royals colleague Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan was arrested on Wednesday night, told officers that he tried to rope in two more players at the behest of bookies, who had promised to offer him Rs20 lakh (Dh133,382) for bowling a fixed over.

“During questioning, Chandila told police that he met bookies at Country Club in Manesar [adjoining Delhi] on April 6,” said police sources. “In the meeting, the bookies asked him to rope in more players for spot-fixing. He gave two names and the bookies asked him to bring them to a party where the deal could be discussed.”

However, the sources said, the two players refused to attend.

The sources also claim that Chandila told interrogators that in the 2012 IPL season, the last two overs of a match between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals might have been fixed.

Amidst media reports that Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty, her husband Raj Kundra and captain Rahul Dravid would also be questioned, police denied calling them for the probe.

The police said they were able to trail the connection when they started to intercept the calls of aides of Tiger Memon, who is wanted in connection with the 1993 Bombay bombings is said to be in Dubai, since March 2013.

They also said that escorts were used to lure the players into the net.

Sources also said that when Sreesanth was arrested from the Trident Hotel in south Mumbai’s Nariman Point late on Wednesday, he was with a woman. Police refused to give more details about her but ruled out her involvement in spot-fixing.

The three players, who along with 11 bookies have been remanded to five days’ police custody, have been lodged in the Special Cell in Lodhi Colony.

Police said all the three players have confessed to their crime.

A senior officer said Sreesanth was ‘cooperating’ in the investigations, while Chavan ‘broke down’ during questioning.

“He [Chavan] accepted that he made a mistake,” the officer said. “He also accepted his role in spot fixing.”

Of the 11 bookies, Chandresh Patel, who was arrested from Mumbai’s Andheri area, may be the main conspirator in the case and could have been involved in spot fixing for several years.

Sources also said that Sreesanth was directly approached by cricketer-turned-bookie Jiju Janardhan, his distant cousin who has also been arrested. He had played for Kerala.

Although the three accused have allegedly confessed to their crimes, their families and lawyers said they were innocent.

Deepak Prakash, Sreesanth’s lawyer, said: “Sreesanth has been falsely or mistakenly arrested. They [Delhi Police] have got some wrong information or mistakenly arrested him.”

Delhi police said more teams have been sent to other states to conduct raids.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, meanwhile, congratulated Delhi police for the investigations. Asked about the underworld link in the betting racket, he said: “Police is investigating.”