An international link has emerged to the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting racket busted by the Thane Crime Branch earlier this year, with the police naming an associate of gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar as an accused in the case.
The racket was busted by the Anti Extortion Cell of the Thane Police in May with the arrest of four bookies from Dombivali for allegedly accepting bets on IPL matches. The police later arrested bookie Sonu Jalan alias Sonu Malad, who was allegedly heading the racket, leading to several big names coming under their scanner.
Website supervision
Thane AEC officials said the latest suspect in the case, Dilip Ludhani, is a long-time aide of Dawood and is heavily involved in the gang’s betting and fixing operations.
“Inquiries have revealed that Mr. Ludhani is the kingpin of the racket, and that Mr. Jalan was reporting to him. He is believed to be based in either Dubai or Bangkok. The website betfair , which Mr. Jalan had created to accept bets, was being run under his direct supervision,” Senior Police Inspector Pradeep Sharma, Thane AEC, said.
Mr. Sharma said Mr. Ludhani is from Khar, and is the son of a builder based in the western suburbs. He followed Dawood to Dubai shortly after the gangster’s escape from India.
Gang involvement
“Just like Mr. Jalan, Mr. Ludhani is in direct touch with several key members of the Dawood gang. We are probing the possible connection of other D-gang members with our case,” a Thane Crime Branch officer said.
The Thane police will soon begin the process of issuing letters rogatory, a legal document required in cases where the investigation spans international borders, and might invoke Mutual Legal Agreement Treaty provisions to try and extradite Mr. Ludhani to India.
The police have so far questioned actor Arbaaz Khan, producer Parag Sanghvi and retired police officer Suhail Buddha’s brother Sameer in connection with the case. The police later decided to make Mr. Khan and Mr. Sanghvi witnesses in the case. After learning that Mr. Jalan used the services of gangster Ravi Pujari to pressure punters who owed him money, the police have also invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in the case.
