What’s the story?
Delhi Police have arrested four men from South Delhi’s Neb Sarai area, who are alleged to have been involved in an IPL betting racket. The police have identified the men as Subash, Sachin, Gurpreet and Charanjit, who were caught red-handed while trying to place bets during the IPL playoff match between the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Supergiant.
“We received an input regarding betting during the IPL cricket match between Mumbai and Pune, following which we planned a raid and four persons were arrested from a house in Krishna Park,” a senior police official told Hindustan Times.
“We have also seized 15 mobile phones, one laptop, one TV and some furniture from the men. A case under the Gambling Act has been registered against the men,” he said.
In case you didn’t know...
This isn’t the first instance of an alleged corrupt activity being nabbed during the ongoing season of the IPL. Earlier this month, four bookies were arrested from a hotel in Kanpur, the same place where the Gujarat Lions and the Delhi Daredevils were put.
Sources close to Sportskeeda had informed that a day after the match between the aforementioned sides on May 10, a surprise raid helped the local police get their hands on a Mumbai-based Ramesh Shah along with three other bookies.
Details
Police are now trying to investigate whether the three men arrested were a part of a bigger racket. They suspect that the men would have made anywhere between Rs. 10-12 Lakh from their activities.
However, they have not collected any cash from the culprits. Technical experts have been roped in to break into the mobiles and laptops and recover essential information that may help the police bust the bigger racket if at all there’s one.
“We suspect that they are a part of a bigger racket. So, we are questioning the men in this regard. We are certain that more such men must be operating in groups in other parts of the city,” a senior police official said.
“We have sought help from technical experts who are working on the laptop and mobile phones to extract more information. They will be going through the data, including their call list, contacts in their mobile and laptop.
“We will also access their call detail records to ascertain who all they were in touch with and who all did they contact on that day. Investigations into the matter are on.”
Author’s take
All efforts must be made to nip this menace of betting and fixing of cricket matches in the bud, and all such moves taken to ensure the same must be welcomed. After the IPL spot-fixing scandal of 2013, it has taken a long time for cricket to restore itself to his former stature.
Already cricketers in Pakistan, especially those playing in the Pakistan Super League, are being suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board owing to their alleged involvement in corrupt activities.
Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Sharjeel Khan and Khaleed Latif are the prominent names to have either been suspended or questioned related to their alleged involvement in spot-fixing or failing to report an approach from the bookies.
Indian cricket, after the setback in 2013, has been relatively free of such allegations and convictions, and such acts of vigilance only help prevent similar incidents from recurring.
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