Allegations of match fixing against Lankan cricketer

Bookie Sonu Yogendra Jalan alias Malad has told the Indian crime branch that he paid Indian Rs. 10 crore to a Sri Lanka cricketer for fixing a match, The Times of India reported. He also disclosed that several Indian cricketers too were also involved in match fixing.

He along with Devendra Kothari alias Bhaiyyaji, were arrested by the city crime branch on Thursday. They are believed to be a part of a bigger international cricket betting racket, crime branch officials said. The property cell of Mumbai crime branch on Thursday raided a building at Lokhandwala in Kandivli and busted a major cricket betting racket. Police arrested Kothari, Jalan and two others and seized two laptops, voice recorders, computers, 25 mobile phones and cash of Indian Rs. 518,000. All the accused were booked under prevention of gambling act and were remanded to police custody.

The news report said that Kothari and Sonu Jalan's betting network, whose turnover is around Indian Rs. 500 crore a month, is controlled by a Pakistan-based gang belonging to Chhota Shakeel. Sonu Jalan was arrested last year from Andheri in another case of gambling by the Social Service branch. Kothari was also an accused in that case and was not traceable.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) yesterday denied any knowledge of its player being accused of match fixing in the ongoing Indian Premier League. “No, we are not aware of such an occurrence. If it had happened the BCCI would have informed us," the SLC secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga was quoted as saying.

Ranatunga said the SLC would definitely investigate the matter if informed by the BCCI. The details of the player and the game were, however, not mentioned.