The four accused were not making any money initially but were promised that if all goes well, they will be handsomely rewarded with Rs 70,000 per month. “It was Asif who paid Rs 3-4 lakh to the accused gang, asking them to look for a ground and hire players, equipment and other stuff. Preliminary investigations have found that the gang received bets from Tver and Moscow in Russia. Asif has also been booked under the same sections. (Screengrab Youtube)Īccording to Achal Tyagi, superintendent of police, Mehsana, it was Asif Mahmad sitting in Russia who was the mastermind of the elaborate cricket scam. Moments later, the umpire hands over his walkie-talkie to one of the players and runs for his life. A repeat of the live telecast of the T20 match on YouTube shows the umpire moving anxiously as a police team approaches him from the boundary. The fourth accused, Mahmad Saqib Saifi was coordinating with Asif Mahmad of Russia, who gave him the live betting rates,” added Rathod. “Soeb has informed us that he was in touch on the Telegram app with one Asif Mahmad from Russia, who used to organise betting over there on the tournament. Similarly, two umpires Mahmad Kolu and Sadiq Davda were receiving instructions on walkie-talkie from Soeb. “It was Soeb who offered Rs 400 per day to the local boys and also rented the farmland of one Ghulambhai Masi to organise this tournament. The players were provided cricket jerseys, kits and other equipment and asked to follow the instructions of the two umpires who dictated to them how to play every ball,” said VN Rathod, police sub-inspector, Mehsana SOG, in his official complaint.Īccording to police, it was Soeb Davda who allegedly rounded up local cricket-playing boys from Vadnagar taluka to join his charade. Both were residents of Vadnagar and told us that they were paid Rs 400 daily to pretend to play cricket. We stopped the match and questioned the captains of both Chennai Fighters (Sanjay Thakor) and Gandhinagar Challengers (Sukhaji Thakor). “One of the screens displayed the score as Chennai Fighters 103/3 while the other screen displayed a Telegram messenger chat box where betting rates were being projected. A single camera has been installed on a small cabin constructed 90 degrees to the pitch whereas on the west side of the ground, two men were stationed with two LED TV Screens. “After a police team raided the spot, we found that a piece of farmland has been converted into a cricket ground where a white coloured mat has been laid down as the pitch. Everything about the proceedings – the match, the setting, the players, umpires, the audience – was fixed. Mehsana Police arrested four persons – Soeb Davda, Mahmad Saqib Saifi, Mahmad Abu Bakar Kolu and Sadiq Davda, all residents of Molipur in Vadnagar, for running this elaborate scam wherein “a lot of money was made through bets.” They have been taken in police remand till Tuesday under Sections 120B of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, sections of the IT Act and the Prevention of Gambling Act.