IPL: spot-fixing; players arrested

            Over a decade after the match-fixing scandal involving Hansie Cronje rocked the cricketing world, the Delhi Police Special Cell has smashed a spot-fixing racket in the ongoing Indian Premier League matches with the arrest of Indian pacer S. Sreesanth and two of his teammates from Rajasthan Royals along with 11 bookies and middlemen. The cricketers — all bowlers — had allegedly struck a deal with the bookies to fix the number of runs they would give in a particular over for payments ranging from Rs. 40 lakh to Rs. 60 lakh. All the accused, who were arrested from Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon, were produced before a Delhi magistrate. They were remanded in five days police custody. The Special Cell has seized 51 mobile phones from the accused, besides five laptops and a recording device.

The main architects of the spot-fixing scandal had roped in the cricketers through their conduits living abroad. Call intercepts with the police suggest that the main conspirators had suspected links with the Mumbai underworld and were operating from countries such as the U.K., U.A.E. and Pakistan. Police investigations have revealed that Sreesanth was paid Rs. 40 lakh, his teammate Ajit Chandila was given an advance of Rs. 20 lakh, and Ankeet Chavan was offered Rs. 60 lakh. The spot fixing was done during three of the IPL matches. All payments were made through the hawala channel and would be probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

The Special Cell has tapped close to 2,000 calls running into over 100 hours of conversations among the bookies and the now-disgraced cricketers who were arrested in Mumbai. The breakthrough was achieved in April after an electronic surveillance team chanced upon a lead while eavesdropping on a conversation between a bookie and a Mumbai underworld suspect having links with top fugitive Dawood Ibrahim. Incidentally, the team comprised Inspector Badrish Dutt — who along with his live-in partner died of gun shot wounds in Gurgaon.

The call records of a bookie under surveillance led the police to a wide network of such elements operating from Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and other States. Some of the bookies were conspiring with the three cricketers to hoodwink punters. Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said that, the police have intercepts revealing all the three cricketers were in direct touch with the bookies. The Police Commissioner said on at least three occasions they fixed spots.

 Drawing a parallel with the 2000 match-fixing scandal, Mr. Kumar said S. Sreesanth was paid Rs. 40 lakh through his close friend and a go-between named Jiju Janardanan alias Biju. The middleman, who earlier played for an Ernakulam cricket club along with Sreesanth, has also been arrested. Mr. Kumar said the modus operandi included asking the bowlers to give a pre-decided signal to the bookies before executing their jobs. Among the proposed gesture codes were rotating wrist watches or wrist bands, playing with chains, using towels and taking off cricketing gear. The bowlers were asked to concede at least a given number of runs, based on which the bookies would fix high rates and invite bets. The bookies made profits running into crores in the process.

Investigations by the Delhi Police Special Cell into the spot-fixing case have revealed that the bookies, apart from trying to influence the outcome of the number of runs in given overs, were getting bets placed on sessions or a span of seven overs in an Indian Premier League match and were trying to control the number of runs to be scored in that period. If the total in that particular phase of the match is within the score predicted by the bookies, they would pocket huge amounts. For example, if the punters predict that 66 runs are to be scored in the first seven overs, there would be people who put their money in the opposite scenario of the score exceeding 66. By making a bowler give away a certain number of runs, those paying him tend to give punters a semblance of an idea that the score is on course to exceed the predicted figure and thus raise the stakes. The result is more bets and hence more money for the bookies. Depending on the match situations, these projections are periodically revised as well.

The police are trying to ascertain whether the final score in some innings had also been fixed or not. Some matches, apart from the three which are being probed, are under the scanner.

Sports Ministry wants strict action:- The Sports Ministry asked IPL authorities to award deterrent punishment to the three cricketers, who were allegedly involved in spot-fixing in the ongoing tournament, if they were found guilty. The Minister of Sports, Shri Jitendra Singh, has spoken to IPL Chairman Shri Rajeev Shukla and impressed upon him to take urgent steps to put in place a mechanism to prevent such unethical activities and ensure clean sports in the country.