Spot-fixing probe: Delhi Police seeks CCTV footage from hotels

Delhi Police has asked hotels in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad to provide CCTV footage to scan meetings of the three arrested cricketers with bookies in connection with the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

Police is also planning to seek permission for collecting voice samples of the players -- S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan -- arrested last Thursday from Mumbai along with 11 bookies.

Sources said that the police have asked certain hotels in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad to provide CCTV footage to scan the meetings players had.

As per the FIR lodged with the Special Cell of Delhi Police, a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy was registered on the complaint filed by Inspector Badrish Dutt, who died under mysterious circumstances a day after filing it.

Dutt, an expert in intercepting calls, had tapped over 100 hours of telephonic conversations that led to unravelling of the scandal, the sources said.

In the FIR registered on May 9, no player or bookie was named.

"Match fixers and bookies from Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab etc and some players participating in this Indian Premier League tournament have joined together to indulge in spot and match-fixing," it said.

The FIR said that the Special Cell received information in the "third week of April that certain members of the underworld" were involved in "some sort of fixing" in the ongoing IPL with active participation of some unidentified conduits based in Delhi.

"It was also revealed that these conduits are contacting cricket players who have been recently engaged by IPL sponsors at a very high price for their respective teams with a view to stage managing some matches for making windfall gains through several bookies, who facilitate illegal gambling in the sport.

"It had also been informed that players who will be 'fixed' will be paid huge amounts to under-perform during decided bowling overs/spells," the FIR said.

The FIR also noted that for these overs, huge amounts of money would be put on stake by the bookies.

"Such acts will amount in cheating innocent and sports- loving people of their hard earned money used in purchasing tickets. Large number of people watch the matches; not only in stadia, purchasing costly tickets, but also across the globe through televisions and internet expecting that there would be a fair play.

"The telecast of matches involve large sums of money through advertisements. As a result of such malpractices, innocent sports lovers end up getting robbed of their precious time and money," it said.

The FIR also said the bookies and players decide before a match as to which portion of it will be 'fixed'.

"Pre-decided signals will be given by the players to the bookies that will clearly be visible in the stadium or on the television for initiating heavy betting.

"In this process, the 'fixed' player would get a huge amount as illegal gratification over and above his contractual value already committed to him by his franchisee. These kinds of malpractice by the group cheat innocent cricket fans of their hard earned money," it said.