Alleged kingpin of match-fixing racket held in Mohali - Hindustan Times
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Alleged kingpin of match-fixing racket held in Mohali

Hindustan Times, Mohali | By, Mohali
Jul 06, 2020 07:35 PM IST

Believed to be involved in an international tennis match-fixing scandal, Ravinder Dandiwal’s links to a fake Uva Sri Lankan T20 league match played in Punjab are being probed

The alleged kingpin of a betting racket, Ravinder Dandiwal, was arrested on Monday by Mohali police for suspected links to an international tennis match-fixing scandal and for hosting a fake Uva Sri Lankan T20 league games in Sawara village in this district from June 29 to July 5.

Mohali senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal (centre) addressing the media at his office on Monday. Ravinder Dandiwal , whose links to a fake T-20 cricket match is being probed, is standing behind him in a blue shirt .(Gurminder Singh/HT)
Mohali senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal (centre) addressing the media at his office on Monday. Ravinder Dandiwal , whose links to a fake T-20 cricket match is being probed, is standing behind him in a blue shirt .(Gurminder Singh/HT)

Two bookies were held three days ago for the cricket betting racket.

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The trio, including Dandiwal, was produced in a local court that sent them to a five-day police remand.

Divulging details, Mohali senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said Dandiwal, who was on the radar of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was facing charges of hosting a cricket match of the Uva T20 league on June 29 that was aired in Sri Lanka through YouTube.

BCCI unit arriving today

He said the anti-corruption unit of the BCCI would be arriving in the city on Tuesday to share details and interrogate Dandiwal.

A report in the Indian Express had said earlier that Dandiwal was named as a suspect in a tennis fixing racket by the Victoria Police in Australia.

Chahal said the cricket match, comprising small-time players largely from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, was played at a cricket academy in Sawara village located about 15 km from Chandigarh. The players were wearing face masks, presumably for Covid-19 protection, and numbered jerseys.

It was being streamed live as a Uva T20 League match in Sri Lanka’s Badulla city, home of the Uva Province Cricket Association.

Village cricket ground booked

Chahal said after the arrests of bookies Rajesh Garg and Pankaj Arora, the police learnt that the grounds of Stoker Cricket Academy in Swara village had been booked from June 29 to July 5, 2020, for 33,000.

Four teams had been formed for the cricket series named Uva-T 20-Premier League.

Though held in Punjab it was shown as being held in Sri Lanka and relayed on various social media apps such as FanCode, Diamond, Sky, Lotus, 10bet, Spin, Punjab Exchange, for earning money through betting.

Chahal said Dandiwal’s role in the racket was being investigated.

Those hired to play the match were small-time players who were offered 5,000 to 10,000.

The role of some Ranji players in hosting the match is also being investigated,said a senior police officer.

He said the players who looked like Sri Lankans were selected.

Two cameras at the venue focused on the back of the players to conceal their faces and were typically taking long shots.

“When the match was airing, suddenly a camera captured some farmers working in a rice field. That raised suspicions that the match is not being played in a stadium,” said the police official, who was part of the investigation.

Cases against Dandiwal and the two other bookies have been registered under section 420, 120-B IPC, 13A/3/67 of the Punjab Gambling Act at Police Station Sadar in Kharar.

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