Uttar Pradesh police looking for the ‘kingpin’ of Kanpur betting racket

Three bookies were arrested from a hotel in Kanpur on May 10 in connection to betting. They were putting up at the same hotel where the Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils were staying. A team of Kanpur police is now in Ajmer, trying to locate the mastermind of the betting racket. The arrest was made following a tip-off from the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). On that same day, the Delhi Daredevils played the Gujarat Lions at the Green Park Stadium.

“During preliminary investigation of the case, we came to know that the racket was being run by Ajmer native Bunty Khandelwal. A police team is camping in Ajmer for the last two days in search of him,” said Assistant Superintendent of Police, Kanpur, Anurag Arya.

Out of the three who were arrested from the hotel was Ramesh, whose job was the installation of advertising hoardings in stadiums.

“We have so far not found any pieces of evidence suggesting role of any player or hotel staff in the case. Nayan Ramesh Shah was knowing Ramesh for the last one-and-a-half year,” said ASP.

U19 cricketer arrested

The other to be arrested was Nayan Shah – an Under-19 cricketer who played for Maharashtra. He used to charge an amount of Rs. 15 lakh per game to provide insight information on the nature of the pitch through his sources. Several pictures of pitches were obtained from his phone.

The arrests once again brought cricket in Kanpur under the limelight. Sources also revealed that the trio did not just manage to book rooms in the team hotel, but also got their rooms shifted nearer to that of the players, which means the hotel staff may also have been involved in wrongdoing.

It has also been clarified by the investigation committee that no player was approached by the bookies but if needed, they will do further investigation.