Delhi Police ask ED to probe IPL money trail

Delhi Police Sunday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe the money trail in alleged spot fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"We have written to the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the money trail in the spot fixing in IPL," a Delhi Police official said.

Delhi Police have also asked the ED to trace money-laundering through "hawala" racket from Pakistan and Dubai, sources said.

A bookie, Ramesh Vyas, who was arrested by the Mumbai police Crime Branch, told Delhi Police that the main source of money used in spot fixing was from overseas.

Delhi Police Friday got Vyas' custody for 10 days.

Mumbai police had seized 92 mobile phones and 18 SIM cards from Vyas after he was arrested May 18.

"Vyas has Mumbai underworld connections. On instructions of the underworld gang members, he contacted several players and tried to prepare them for spot fixing," said an officer.

He used code language to keep their talks secret and called them "Master" and "Doctor saheb" over the phone, the officer said.

He was also in contact with some of the arrested bookies, including Tinku Mandy, who is now in the custody of Mumbai police, and was allegedly handling the south Indian betting syndicate of the underworld.

The spot fixing scandal in the IPL broke out May 16 with the arrest of three Rajasthan Royals cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila.

In all, Delhi Police arrested 26 people, 24 of these are in judicial custody and Sreesanth's friend Abhishek Shukla is on bail. All are booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Altogether, 60 people have been arrested across the country in connection with the IPL spot fixing scandal.