Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Dardevils: IPL betting racket busted, 2 held from team hotel

Kanpur: A day after the Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils IPL clashed here, police have arrested three people who were allegedly running a betting racket from inside the same hotel where the two teams were staying.

Last night when the match was on at the Green Park stadium, the BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) initiated action on information that a betting racket was being run from the Landmark Hotel, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur, Akash Kulhari said.

Two people were arrested from a room on the 17th floor of the city's only five-star hotel, which is located near to the stadium.

They have been identified as Nayan Shah, a native of Maharashtra, and Vikas Kumar, who belongs to Pukhrayan from adjoining Kanpur Dehat district, he said.

Ramesh Kumar, the third accused in the racket, was arrested from the Green Park stadium and works as a sub-contractor in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), the SSP said.

According to the police, Kumar used to stay at the stadium and send pitch reports to his two associated at the hotel.

Based on the inputs about the pitch, Shah and Vikas used to take the bets, he said, adding close-shot pictures of the pitch were found from the mobile phone seized from Kumar.

It has been learnt from the BCCI sources that Ramesh, who was a part of the logistics team had "promised" the bookie Shah that he has contacts among groundsmen, who can pour more water on the 22-yard surface to tinker with the playing conditions.

"Although Ramesh had nothing to do with pitch preparation activity, he had bragged to the bookie that his access to Green Park groundsmen will help him tamper with the pitch. Additional water would make the pitch damp and it would be a low-scoring affair," a BCCI source told PTI.

However Gujarat Lions scored 196 and Daredevils chased the target off the last delivery in a high-scoring affair.

After it turned out to be high-scoring match, Ramesh told bookie Shah that despite his arrangements, the scoring pattern wasn't affected.

"The Anti Corruption Unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been tracking activities of certain individuals, as a result of which, three suspects were arrested in Kanpur, on Thursday," read the official statement from the BCCI.

"Following this operation, the Uttar Pradesh Police Crime Branch could successfully foil the alleged betting attempts of the accused. This was an outcome of the ACU of the BCCI, having worked closely with various law enforcement agencies, who will continue further investigations, in this matter," the BCCI said.

Superintendent of Police (City) Gaurav Grover said Rs 4.90 lakh, four mobile phones and a laptop were recovered from the three men.

The trio is being interrogated for other details, the SP said, adding the police were also trying to find out how they got rooms in the hotel where the cricketers were staying.

Police were also questioning the staffers of the Landmark Hotel in this regard.