CBI starts probe to find links between bookies and underworld

A year after the probe into the match-fixing allegations was initiated, the CBI has now begun probing the "unholy nexus" between bookies and the underworld mafia to find out how deep the criminal section has penetrated into the game.

The sleuths of Special Crime Branch have made some headway in their investigations into the nexus and preliminary reports indicate that some bookies were acting at the behest of the underworld mafia in fixing cricket games, highly-placed agency sources told PTI in New Delhi.

The investigations were being carried out to bring to light all the murky dealings in cricket besides the "unholy" nexus between the underworld mafia and some of India's leading bookies, players and administrators.

The sources said the probe into this nexus and its bearing on national security was being conducted both within India and abroad. They said the accounts and other important books of bookies had been scrutinised but added that this was a wide area and needed a detailed investigation before fixing responsibilities.

Even though the nexus had been unearthed during the CBI's probe into the match-fixing scandal, the dimensions were yet to be fully established, they said.

Without disclosing any names, the sources said a "few bookies" had links with the underworld that had been fairly established during the earlier investigation. CBI, the sources said, would cast its net wide to get to the bottom of the nexus between the underworld, bookies, cricketers and the game's administrators.

The investigations into this area began during the tenure of former CBI Director R K Raghavan who had held a series of meetings with the officials of other security and intelligence agencies for data on some of the underworld people. The sources said the role of cricketers had been identified and now the main thrust was being given to the role of bookies.

They said the underworld had shown more than an academic interest in the game and had found that the game could be manipulated. They said the entire gamut of the unholy nexus could be unravelled with active co-operation from police forces in other states including Mumbai and agencies like Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

It is believed that the Mumbai Police and DRI had stumbled upon conversations between some players and the underworld in 1995. However, DRI has written to CBI that it was not in possession of any tapes.

The sources drew attention to the warning contained in CBI's report on match-fixing that underworld mafia could be expected to take total control of the betting racket if it was not checked immediately with a firm hand.

Negligence of the police and other authorities in allowing "wagering to turn into an organised racket, particularly with the involvement of the underworld mafia", was cited by CBI as the reason for the warning in its 162-page report, submitted on October 31 last year.

The underworld mafia's involvement is also borne out by the testimonies of former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and the team's former physiotherapist Ali Irani in which names of mafia dons Anees Ibrahim, Abu Salem and Sharad Shetty found mention.

CBI report said Azhar during his questioning had stated that "Abu Salem had rung him up on a couple of occasions to fix matches but he had refused."