A suspected bookie, allegedly involved in betting in the ongoing IPL matches, was detained by the Crime Branch CID in Chennai on Thursday. Preliminary investigation revealed that he was part of an active network of bookies operating across the country, with the kingpin based in New Delhi, highly placed police sources said.
A special team, comprising officials of the Crime Branch CID and the State intelligence of the Tamil Nadu police, launched a probe to unearth the network. Following a tip-off, the team, which began investigation about a week ago, said some bookies were involved in organising betting through the ‘master operator’ in New Delhi.
“They were in Chennai and were in constant touch with their counterparts in other venues of IPL matches and the kingpin,” a senior investigator said.
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Parrying questions whether any player or former player was involved, he said bookies were not directly connected to any cricketer. “They only conduct the betting and pay the winners. It appears that betting was centralised and specific instructions came from New Delhi .”