Online cricket betting investigation expands in India

The arrest and interrogation of notorious illegal online bookie and alleged blackmailer and briber, Sonu Jalan (41) by Maharashtra state police in India last week on internet betting related charges (see previous report) has led to further arrests after a police examination of the contents of his journal, laptops and mobile phones.

In a major investigation into illegal online betting on IPL cricket matches police have so far arrested six people, including Vrajesh Joshi, who is accused of providing the software and technology to Jalan’s allegedly lucrative enterprise.

Among those detained are three men reportedly caught red handed accepting online IPL bets in Mumbai.

The Times of India reports that the latest person to be questioned is Bollywood actor-producer Arbaaz Khan. According to the police, he has confessed to involvement in betting over IPL matches.

The police claim that they have established an association with Jalan involving the Bollywood celebrity. Pradeep Sharma, senior Inspector and head of the police Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) said Friday that the duo are believed to have known each other for over five years.

Jalan, the alleged kingpin of the IPL betting racket, in his police statement also mentioned several prominent names who bet significant amounts on IPL teams and players, Sharma added. He said Jalan’s statement corroborated with handwritten notes in his personal diary, which is now in possession of the police. A line holding machine used by the illegal bookie was among the evidence seized when Jalan was arrested.

The name of a Pakistani politician has also surfaced, an angle the police are currently probing.

“Actor Arbaaz Khan placed bets during one of the past IPL seasons through Jalan. In those days, Jalan was working with a big bookie who went by the name Junior Calcutta. Subsequently, too there was a huge transaction between Jalan and Khan. Apparently, Khan was blackmailed into paying crores, the threat being that his gambling habit would be exposed. But all this will be probed once Khan gives his side of the story,” a senior officer associated with the investigation told The Times of India.

However, Inspector Sharma said that claims that Khan had been blackmailed are at present unsubstantiated. “Nothing concrete can be said on this as of now. We need to corroborate it with evidence and statements of those who are linked with the racket,” he said.

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