As the Mumbai Police Crime Branch investigation into the cricket betting syndicate progresses, an apparent involvement of the underworld, especially the D’Company, is gradually surfacing.
As the crime branch pieces together the leads obtained so far, London-based key Dawood Ibrahim aide Iqbal Mirchi’s role as the kingpin of the transnational betting/bookmaking syndicate, running between India-Dubai and London, is getting evident. An Interpol Red Corner Notice is pending against Mirchi.
Highly placed sources in the crime branch told HT on Monday that the latest lead has been obtained from the interrogation of Dinesh Sharma and Kishore Paglani, the two bookies who were arrested from Pune by the crime branch on Sunday.
The duo was working under top bookie, Kishore Baglani alias Kishore Pune, who is suspected to have fled to Dubai.
Police had discovered two telephone lines to Pakistan which Sharma and Paglani claimed had been provided to them by Mumbai-based bookie Ramesh Vyas, who is presently in the crime branch custody, to accept bets from Pakistani bookies.
From the interrogation of the duo, the crime branch has learnt that Kishore Pune worked in close association with Pawan Jaipur and his brother Sanjay Jaipur. All the three, sources said as quoting the disclosure, are linked to Iqbal Mirchi who is the kingpin of the betting syndicate.
“The Pakistan connection of the bookies and the safe haven provided to all the key bookies in Dubai are all suspected to be managed by Mirchi,” sources said adding, “apart from this, the information received from our sources in Dubai clearly indicates the involvement of Mirchi in the international syndicate as the key player.”
{{/usCountry}}“The Pakistan connection of the bookies and the safe haven provided to all the key bookies in Dubai are all suspected to be managed by Mirchi,” sources said adding, “apart from this, the information received from our sources in Dubai clearly indicates the involvement of Mirchi in the international syndicate as the key player.”
{{/usCountry}}Sources said that apart from the Jaipur brothers and Kishore Pune, top bookie Sunil Abhichandani alias Suunil Dubai is also holed up in Dubai, though an Interpol Red Corner Notice is still pending against him.
He too is suspected to be operating under the tutelage of Mirchi. Recently, a sessions court had rejected Abhichandani’s anticipatory bail application.
Sources said that following the revelations, the crime branch has stepped up it’s efforts in deporting at least one of those bookies holed up in Dubai to get some more insight into Mirchi’s involvement in the betting syndicate as well as those linked to him.
“The deportation of the bookies has become imperative to take the present investigation to a logical conclusion,” sources said that apart from issuing Look out Notices for the wanted bookies, the Mumbai police has initiated unofficial discussions with authorities in Dubai police to hasten their deportation.