Bookies’ men in stadium relayed info before TV
By Manish Pachouly
Using the deferred live telecast on TV to their advantage, Chhotu Jalandhar’s men relayed game information to fellow bookies before it flashed on TV screens helping them win big bets.
IPL spot-fixing - ED identifies the man bookies used to fool punters
In the charge sheet filed at an Ahmedabad district court, the Enforcement Directorate stated that associates of a bookie, Chhotu Jalandhar, would relay ball-byball updates from the stadium to him and this helped other bookies accept bets, knowing the outcome before bettors watching the match on TV.
The agency’s charge sheet hinges on the statement of an arrested bookie Ritesh Bansal, who spilled the beans on the modus operandi. Bansal, sitting in Gurgaon, would get updates about the matches from Chhotu Jalandhar. Bansal has given ED the number used to relay this information. He claimed Chhotu had given him this number, and five others.
Bansal also revealed his links with bookies based in Dubai and Pakistan. He told ED that he had to take Rs 1.5 crore from a Pakistani bookie named ‘Ittesham’ and he had approached another Pakistani bookie name ‘Numan’ to realize the payment, but in vain. He also revealed that he made payments to bookies in Dubai and Pakistani through an Indian bookie called ‘Shibu Jaipur’.
The ED’s charge sheet also talks about the role of angadias (traditional couriers) in the betting racket.
The bookies also revealed that for a “super master login identity” of Betfair.com - a UK-based betting site -- an upfront payment of around $300,000 had to be made to those who were illegally managing it. And this is where the role of angadias comes into play, according to the agency. The payment was to be made in equivalent of Indian rupees, which was transferred out of India through angadias. They said that one super master login catered to at least 310 accounts and sub login IDs. The bookies further took commission of Rs 30 per dollar from punters. One of the arrested bookies, Mukesh Kumar alias Mukesh Delhi, said he had earned Rs 15 crore in commissions in three years using this modus operandi.
The ED’s charge sheet makes no mention of match-fixing. This is also evident from the fact that the ED did not name controversial Ulhasnagar based bookie Anil Jaisinghani. ED officials said that it would find mention in the supplementary charge sheet only if Jaisinghani is traced.
Seven bookies were arrested between March and May. The Ahmedabad ED had conducted raids following information of large scale hawala racket in cricket betting through Betfair.com. The ED arrested Girish Patel alias Tommy Patel and his associate Kiran Jayantilal Mala (Thakkar) following a raid in a farmhouse in Vadodara in March. The ED then arrested five bookies, including two from Delhi, in the subsequent months.
Using the deferred live telecast on TV to their advantage, Chhotu Jalandhar’s men relayed game information to fellow bookies before it flashed on TV screens helping them win big bets.
IPL spot-fixing - ED identifies the man bookies used to fool punters
Six to seven seconds. That was the only advantage that bookies had during the last season of IPL - and that helped them make a killing.
In the charge sheet filed at an Ahmedabad district court, the Enforcement Directorate stated that associates of a bookie, Chhotu Jalandhar, would relay ball-byball updates from the stadium to him and this helped other bookies accept bets, knowing the outcome before bettors watching the match on TV.
The agency’s charge sheet hinges on the statement of an arrested bookie Ritesh Bansal, who spilled the beans on the modus operandi. Bansal, sitting in Gurgaon, would get updates about the matches from Chhotu Jalandhar. Bansal has given ED the number used to relay this information. He claimed Chhotu had given him this number, and five others.
Bansal also revealed his links with bookies based in Dubai and Pakistan. He told ED that he had to take Rs 1.5 crore from a Pakistani bookie named ‘Ittesham’ and he had approached another Pakistani bookie name ‘Numan’ to realize the payment, but in vain. He also revealed that he made payments to bookies in Dubai and Pakistani through an Indian bookie called ‘Shibu Jaipur’.
The ED’s charge sheet also talks about the role of angadias (traditional couriers) in the betting racket.
The bookies also revealed that for a “super master login identity” of Betfair.com - a UK-based betting site -- an upfront payment of around $300,000 had to be made to those who were illegally managing it. And this is where the role of angadias comes into play, according to the agency. The payment was to be made in equivalent of Indian rupees, which was transferred out of India through angadias. They said that one super master login catered to at least 310 accounts and sub login IDs. The bookies further took commission of Rs 30 per dollar from punters. One of the arrested bookies, Mukesh Kumar alias Mukesh Delhi, said he had earned Rs 15 crore in commissions in three years using this modus operandi.
The ED’s charge sheet makes no mention of match-fixing. This is also evident from the fact that the ED did not name controversial Ulhasnagar based bookie Anil Jaisinghani. ED officials said that it would find mention in the supplementary charge sheet only if Jaisinghani is traced.
Seven bookies were arrested between March and May. The Ahmedabad ED had conducted raids following information of large scale hawala racket in cricket betting through Betfair.com. The ED arrested Girish Patel alias Tommy Patel and his associate Kiran Jayantilal Mala (Thakkar) following a raid in a farmhouse in Vadodara in March. The ED then arrested five bookies, including two from Delhi, in the subsequent months.
