Punjab Police arrest Ravinder Dandiwal, the man behind fake T20 league in Mohali

An unusual cricket incident recently came under the radar of Punjab Police. A T20 match which was played amid COVID-19 outbreak in Chandigarh was streamed online as a Sri Lankan T20 league game.

The game which was played in Sawara village, 16 km from Chandigarh, was streamed online as a ‘UVA T20 league’ match. Along with the Punjab Police, the incident also caught the attention of BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit.

The police had suspected the involvement of a betting syndicate behind the incident. Upon the investigation, Ravinder Dandiwal, on Monday, was arrested by Punjab Police in connection with the T20 game incident.

Dandiwal, hailing from Rajasthan, was also responsible for organizing such fraudulent matches in the past as well. The police revealed that Dandiwal emerged as the ‘kingpin’ of the entire racked and they’ve also seized some laptops, mobile phones and documents from him.

“Ravinder Dandiwal, who has emerged kingpin in the entire racket, was arrested on Monday,” Pal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kharar, said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“He has been arrested in connection with ongoing investigations into the T20 match that was played, in which already two arrests have been made. His role into the entire racket is being further probed,” he added.

BCCI ACU set to help Punjab Police

Furthermore, BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit will also travel to Chandigarh to aid police with information in their investigation.

“Whatever information we have we will pass it on to Punjab Police, if it helps them in their investigation or whatever we can gather from them, we will gather it. Our team will be from Delhi,” Ajit Singh, BCCI Anti-corruption unit chief said.

“He has been arrested in connection to the T20 game (that was portrayed as a T20 game in Sri Lanka but was actually happening in Sawara village). We would like to have access to him also but that depends on Punjab Police. We are hopeful we will get it,” he added.

Earlier, there were reports about the BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit keeping a close eye on Dandiwal’s operations. A top BCCI ACU officer had also named Dandiwal as the central figure in match-fixing activities. Singh had also termed Dandiwal a ‘person of interest’ while confirming that the board is keeping a close eye on him.