Bookies under scanner

Lahore: As the Jamaican police have finally concluded that the Pakistan cricket Coach Bob Woolmer was murdered, several Pakistani bookies, who had been involved in match-fixing in the past and had gone to the West Indies in connection with the ongoing World Cup, are likely to come under the scrutiny of the investigation agencies.

According to well-placed intelligence sources, the most prominent of these bookies is Khwaja Arif, alias Pappu, from Lahore. Pappu is considered to be the gambling don of Pakistan, with connections to underworld don Dawood Ebrahim.

Pappu is a well-known Lahore underworld don and socialite who used to be an Income Tax officer. However, he was dismissed from government service on corruption charges.

Pappu joined cricket bookies after his dismissal and became a match-fixer and provider for the political and military elite of Punjab.

The 'D-Company' link

Dawood's "D-Company" soon came into contact with Pappu because he was by then a major underworld player. He can be seen at the Lahore Race Club every Sunday, accompanied by Tariq Aziz, who also happens to be the chairman of the Lahore Race Club.

Pappu is always involved in match-fixing whenever a cricket event involving India or Pakistan is held in any part of the world.

Cricket circles in Lahore say that at least five bookies from Pakistan had gone to the West Indies in the first week of this month in connection with the World Cup.

According to a senior official of the Lahore Race Club, Pappu was a pioneer in introducing gambling on the cricket field in the 1990s. But cricket is seasonal and he needed something more constant. Therefore, he became a horse racing bookie and started delving into the Lahore Race Club crowd.

Pappu soon became a gambling don in Lahore. His Karachi area chief is a man code-named "Matka" (meaning barrel). His contacts and interaction with Dawood broadened his vision and he started showing South African horse races on closed circuit TV in Pakistan for betting. Using satellite channels and internet, he can take and book international players for these races.