15 arrests across India in IPL scam

Six bookies were arrested in Goa today in the IPL betting scam. Six were arrested on the charge of betting in Chennai and Mumbai during IPL. In Mumbai, two bookies, allegedly in telephonic contact with counterparts in Pakistan, were arrested. In Chennai, a Sanjay Kumar Bafna, against whom a lookout notice had been issued, was arrested. He is alleged to be a key person in the betting racket. An advocate representing Vikram Aggarwal, owner of the franchise for Hotel Radisson Blu in Chennai, alleged his client had been in police custody since this morning for questioning. The crime branch, however, said they hadn't taken him from his house.

The Goa arrests followed information from the Delhi Police on the fixers alleged to be conduits of three more cricketers.

The six were all from Mumbai, it appears, and were accepting bets last night for the final IPL match when the raids took place. They were arrested from a rented accommodation at Candolim, nine km from Panaji, the capital. About two dozen mobile phones, laptops, iPads and a lot of cash was taken from them.

Efforts are on to nab three people who allegedly used to fix deals on behalf of three cricketers, other than those already arrested by DP. The three fixers are allegedly from Nagpur and Jaipur and their names came up during the interrogation of Mohammed Yahya, a bookie arrested by DP from Hyderabad airport while trying to flee the country.

In Chennai, an advocate representing Vikram Aggarwal, owner of the franchise for Hotel Radisson Blu in the locality of Egmore, alleged his client had been in police custody since this morning. According to reports, the Mumbai Police is also expected to issue a summons to Aggarwal, as Vindoo Dara Singh allegedly named him in the betting case.

According to Abudu Kumar, the advocate who represents Aggarwal, of VVA Hotels Pvt Ltd, the state police's crime branch summoned him as a witness in the match betting case. While the summons was for Thursday, he was allegedly taken from his house this morning, said Kumar. However, the crime branch said they hadn't done it. A senior official from there declined to comment on whether Aggarwal was under investigation.

In Chennai, an advocate representing Vikram Aggarwal, owner of the franchise for Hotel Radisson Blu in the locality of Egmore, alleged his client had been in police custody since this morning for questioning. The crime branch, however, said they hadn't taken him from his house.