IPL fixing row hits Ahmedabad, bookie held, Rs 1.26cr cash, gold

AHMEDABAD: Even as fresh arrests continue to be made across the country in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, the crime branch of Ahmedabad police arrested a mid-level bookie from Satellite area of the city early on Saturday. Rs 1.26 crore in cash and one kg gold biscuits worth Rs 26 lakh were recovered from the possession of the arrested man. Police have also seized two laptops and 12 mobile phones that were found on the spot. The amount of cash seized is among the largest to be recovered by the state police in a betting case.

According to crime branch officials, they got a specific tip-off on Friday about the activities of Vinod Mulchandani, a resident of Indraprasth Tower-VI near Prahladnagar. Police came to know that Mulchandani was part of a major betting syndicate active during IPL and was still taking bets. On the basis of the tip-off, a crime branch team raided his residence early on Saturday morning and nabbed him with valuables, the officials said.

Joint commissioner of police (crime) AK Sharma told journalists that their operation started after they came to know about a message allegedly generated by Mulchandani which predicted victory for Hyderabad Sunrisers against Delhi Daredevils in a league match earlier this month. "He has been active in cricket betting for nearly 15 years. Mulchandani has a courier firm named RC Center registered in Bhavnagar, his hometown, which he uses as a front for his activities. He was earlier caught by the Bhavnagar police for cricket betting. In the last season of IPL, he had rented a flat in Bopal for his betting racket and was caught by Ahmedabad rural police," Sharma said.

The police, however, said that Mulchandani was not directly involved in the ongoing IPL spot-fixing scandal and that he was just a mid-level bookie interested in quick money. He had hidden the seized money - believed to be his 'turnover' from two matches - in an attic, said the police.

"The most important aspect of the case is Mulchandani's contacts with other bookies who work closely with him. We have sent the mobile phones and laptops for forensic investigation to get more information about bookies from Gujarat and elsewhere so that we can have a better understanding of their nexus," said Sharma.

When asked about Mulchandani's alleged links with major bookies at the national-level and the possible hawala channel for transfer of money, Sharma said that various teams are investigating all the possibilities. Police have got the names and numbers of other bookies such as Sheetal Kathi, Jeetu Tharad, Rakesh Rajkot, Kiran Thakkar and Chirag Maninagar from Mulchandani's transactions.

Police further said that the source of the gold and money seized from Mulchandani is also under investigation. "With the crackdown on major bookies in the state, many have decided to shift out of Gujarat. Mulchandani confessed that he was on way to Mount Abu on Saturday for the IPL finals on Sunday. He had been to Diu in the past two days to avoid arrest. When he came to his home in Ahmedabad for a brief period to meet his family, he was caught," said an investigator.