S Sreesanth, one of the most controversial players of the Indian Cricket team, is back in the media glare. Sreesanth has made news in the past for various incidents, including an emotional break down after being slapped by Harbajan Singh during a match. But this time he is in the media glare for having been booked for spot fixing in IPL matches. Not just Sreesanth, but two other players of the Rajasthan Royals team, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan, have been arrested for the same and have been suspended by the BCCI.
On Thursday, Neeraj Kumar, Delhi police commissioner, a self-declared cricket lover said, 'Three players of the Rajasthan Royals team, Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan were arrested from Mumbai late on Wednesday night. Eleven bookies were also apprehended from various parts of the country, including Delhi, and have been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).'
Kumar added that bookies are always on the look-out for vulnerable players, who can be easily roped in for spot fixing. With the recent spate of arrests, Indian Premier League(IPL), often termed the Indian Paisa League, has again been linked up with the underworld. It has been proved that Chandresh Patel alias Jupiter and Jiju Janardhan, who are among the 11 arrested bookies, were directly in touch with D-company. Sources in special cell said, 'the two acted on the directions of D-company.'
Neeraj Kumar also said, 'The spot fixing masterminds are abroad.' Though Delhi police is claiming that only three overs across matches were spot-fixed, sources informed Millennium Post that there is a high-possibility that Sreesanth and Chandila’s not playing the recent match against Mumbai Indians, was a part of spot booking. 'It is yet to be confirmed as investigations are still being carried out,' the source added.
The police chief said that three respective matches played by Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur (5 May against Pune Warriors), in Mohali (9 May against Kings' XI Punjab) and in Mumbai (15 May against Mumbai Indians) were all spot-fixed.
The fixing was to give 14 runs or more in a specific over.
In the first match, Chandila was booked for Rs 40 lakhs to give 14 runs in the second over of his spell. He was given a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs as advance.
As he failed to give any predetermined indication, the bookie asked him to return the money, though he did give the required 14 runs.
In the second match, Sreesanth was asked to put a towel over his trouser before bowling the second over of his spell. After this indication, he was also asked to give enough time to bookies to indulge in heavy betting. Sreesanth was in direct touch with Jiju who was in contact with the other bookie over phone and BBM, and their conversation is in possession of the Delhi police Special Cell. Jiju is a distant relative of Sreesanth.
For the third match, Chavan was paid Rs 60 lakhs for the same fixing of an over. This time Chandila was in touch with the bookie and was directing Chavan. Surprisingly, all the three Rajasthan Royals players were aware that they were involved in the fixing.
51 mobile phones, 5 laptops and 1 recording machine have been seized by the police. 'Around 70 calls were kept on surveillance, out of which 30 were found to be in touch with numbers in Pakistan. In the call detail records, it was found that people from Dubai and Karachi were also contacted,' the source added.
On Thursday, Neeraj Kumar, Delhi police commissioner, a self-declared cricket lover said, 'Three players of the Rajasthan Royals team, Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan were arrested from Mumbai late on Wednesday night. Eleven bookies were also apprehended from various parts of the country, including Delhi, and have been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).'
Kumar added that bookies are always on the look-out for vulnerable players, who can be easily roped in for spot fixing. With the recent spate of arrests, Indian Premier League(IPL), often termed the Indian Paisa League, has again been linked up with the underworld. It has been proved that Chandresh Patel alias Jupiter and Jiju Janardhan, who are among the 11 arrested bookies, were directly in touch with D-company. Sources in special cell said, 'the two acted on the directions of D-company.'
Neeraj Kumar also said, 'The spot fixing masterminds are abroad.' Though Delhi police is claiming that only three overs across matches were spot-fixed, sources informed Millennium Post that there is a high-possibility that Sreesanth and Chandila’s not playing the recent match against Mumbai Indians, was a part of spot booking. 'It is yet to be confirmed as investigations are still being carried out,' the source added.
The police chief said that three respective matches played by Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur (5 May against Pune Warriors), in Mohali (9 May against Kings' XI Punjab) and in Mumbai (15 May against Mumbai Indians) were all spot-fixed.
The fixing was to give 14 runs or more in a specific over.
In the first match, Chandila was booked for Rs 40 lakhs to give 14 runs in the second over of his spell. He was given a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs as advance.
As he failed to give any predetermined indication, the bookie asked him to return the money, though he did give the required 14 runs.
In the second match, Sreesanth was asked to put a towel over his trouser before bowling the second over of his spell. After this indication, he was also asked to give enough time to bookies to indulge in heavy betting. Sreesanth was in direct touch with Jiju who was in contact with the other bookie over phone and BBM, and their conversation is in possession of the Delhi police Special Cell. Jiju is a distant relative of Sreesanth.
For the third match, Chavan was paid Rs 60 lakhs for the same fixing of an over. This time Chandila was in touch with the bookie and was directing Chavan. Surprisingly, all the three Rajasthan Royals players were aware that they were involved in the fixing.
51 mobile phones, 5 laptops and 1 recording machine have been seized by the police. 'Around 70 calls were kept on surveillance, out of which 30 were found to be in touch with numbers in Pakistan. In the call detail records, it was found that people from Dubai and Karachi were also contacted,' the source added.