BENGALURU: In a major breakthrough, the sleuths of Central Crime Branch (CCB) have arrested international bookie Sayyam Gulati who was on the run since an FIR was registered against him in September for his alleged involvement in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) match-fixing scandal.
The CCB had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) aagainst Haryana-based bookie Gulati after he remained absconding while his associate in crime Bhavesh Bafna, a celebrity drummer, was arrested by the police on October 2. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said "Gulati was hiding in West Indies. He was involved in the match-fixing done by Bafna who is in judicial custody," he said.
DCP (CCB) Kuldeep Kumar R Jain told Deccan Chronicle that Gulati along with Bafna and other bookies had held meetings with players and fixed everything but could not materialise it. Both Bafna and Gulati worked in tandem with other bookies and approached players.
"We are interrogating him to extract more information about the match-fixing scandal and the involvement of others," DCP Jain said.
According to a senior police officer, Sayyam's arrest was a breakthrough in the scam as it could play a vital role in the investigation of the KPL match-fixing scandal involving many big names who were suspected to be involved.
The CCB has so far arrested eight people in connection with the scandal including cricketers CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi who were reportedly involved in spot-fixing during the KPL final 2019 between Hubli Tigers and Bellary Tuskers.
While Gautam was allegedly paid Rs 20 lakh for slow batting, Kazi was paid Rs 5 lakh for giving more runs to the other team. Other arrests in the case include Bengaluru Blasters player Nishant Singh Shekhawat, bowling coach Vinu Prasad and opening batsman M Vishwanathan who were arrested on October 25.
On October 2, the CCB sleuths had arrested Bhavesh Bafna for his role in match-fixing. The duo had allegedly approached the Ballari Tuskers, a cricket team, to give "more than ten runs per over, but the bowlers refused" to do it.
The first arrest made in the KPL match-fixing scam was that of Belagavi Panthers franchise owner Ashfaq Ali Thar after his role in betting was established. He had allegedly placed bets with a bookie based in Dubai and was in touch with players of other teams during the league.
