NEW DELHI: Seven suspected cricket punters were on Saturday booked by the CBI which began a country-wide investigation in connection with alleged match-fixing in the 2019 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). While there have been allegations of widespread match-fixing in a few of the previous IPL editions, this is the first time that the CBI has actually booked punters suspected of betting with the aim to turn the outcome of the cricket matches. CBI sources were tightlipped when asked whether they suspect the involvement of any cricketer from among the teams that took part in the 2019 edition.
“That depends on the evolving evidence,” a CBI officer said. According to two FIRs filed after Saturday actions, CBI investigators received information that a network of individuals involved in cricket betting were influencing the outcome of IPL matches based on tips that they received from Pakistan. The CBI has named one Dileep Kumar, based in Rohini, Delhi, and Gurram Vasu and Gurram Satish based in Hyderabad in its first FIR as accused, while Sajjan Singh, Prabhu Lal Meena, Ram Avtar and Amit Kumar Sharma, all from Rajasthan, have been named in the second.