Mehsana bookies’ links in Mumbai, Delhi being probed

AHMEDABAD, APRIL 20: The arrest of four bookies from Mehsana by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) on charges of betting is likely to reveal the...

AHMEDABAD, APRIL 20: The arrest of four bookies from Mehsana by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) on charges of betting is likely to reveal their links with counterparts in Mumbai and Delhi. But more clues will be available only after the big fish are nabbed. The Local Crime Branch is still searching for Jagdish Rambhai Choksi, a builder in Mehsana who, according to the four persons arrested, was the man running the entire ring in the district.

A police team from Mehsana is also camping in Ahmedabad to catch Hemant Shah and Yogesh Modi, the two big bookies who have links with counterparts in Delhi and Mumbai. The two have their establishments on C G Road and are absconding.

Sources said Mehsana police has informed the Delhi Crime Branch of the arrests. A Delhi Crime Branch team had earlier visited Vadodara and Ahmedabad to find out whether local bookies were involved in the sensational match-fixing case exposed recently.

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Mehsana Local Crime Branch Inspector Govindbhai Chaudhary said those arrested were Pravin Ambalal Bhavsar, Govindbhai Naranbhai Patel, Jagdishbhai Ramanbhai Patel and Vinodbhai Prabhudas Patel. Three personal computers, three mobile phones, five telephone lines, computer printouts and cash were seized from them.

Chaudhary said the computer printouts seized show that the betting had taken place on specific dates – on almost all the days when India played South Africa or whenever there was a one day international match.

He said the modus operandi was simple – the four bookies had their small agents operating in small towns. However, bets of more than Rs 1 lakh were directly placed by the Mehsana bookies with the Ahmedabad links who provided them the rates of Delhi and Mumbai.

Chaudhary said in Test matches, bets were placed on the runs each batsman would score or the entire team would score on that particular day. The rates were at par with Delhi and Mumbai.

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Sources in Mehsana said that if an agent in Radhanpur had 10 people betting on India losing and the bet worked out to Rs 50,000 and another 5 people bet on South Africa losing and the amount worked out to Rs 75,000, then the agent in Radhanpur would bet with these four bookies. He would then bet Rs 50,000 on India losing and Rs 75,000 on South Africa losing.

But amounts over Rs 1 lakh were not handled by the Mehsana bookies directly. They bet the same amount with Shah and Modi. The entire dealing was in hawala.

In another development, the Ahmedabad police arrested nine persons from Sabarmati Railway Yard. The nine were caught gambling. A satta book used for Vorli matka and in cricket satta betting was recovered from them.