The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked three suspects concerning the alleged fixing of IPL 2019 matches “based on inputs” from Pakistan. The officials of the investigative agency confirmed that they have started a nationwide probe after receiving information that “a network of individuals involved in cricket betting are influencing the outcome of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches based on inputs received from Pakistan”, as alleged in an FIR. The suspects nabbed by the CBI have been identified as Dileep Kumar from Delhi’s Rohini area and Gurram Vasu and Gurram Satish, who are both from Hyderabad.
The officials confirmed further that the racket has been in operation since 2013 and that the bookies duped the public by “inducing them for betting”. The punters used fake identities and forged KYC documents to open mule accounts with the support of certain unknown bank officials, the FIR alleges. “These bank accounts have been opened by submitting forged details such as multiple dates of birth and without due diligence done by the bank officials. A part of the money received from the general public in India on account of such betting activities is also being shared with their associates based in foreign countries using hawala transactions. ”This is not the first incident when such involvement of bookies with the league has come to light. Earlier last month, Hyderabad police had busted an online cricket betting racket, booking as many as seven punters during a raid when they were betting on Rajasthan Royals versus Royal Challengers Bangalore’s clash on April 5.
