The plot of the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal got murkier on Monday, as the Delhi Police detained two ex-Ranji players, Manish Guddewar and Babu Rao Yadav, who played for Vidarbha and Railways respectively, signifying the possibility of a wider network involving more players and bookies.
According to the police, the duo acted as facilitators between nixed Rajasthan Royals player Ajit Chandila and the bookies and helped the bookmakers scout for vulnerable players for the betting syndicate. Express had reported about the alleged involvement of these players on Sunday. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police is grilling the duo. Guddewar was arrested from Aurangabad and Yadav from Delhi.
A top official said Chandila blamed his friends Guddewar and Yadav for introducing him to the bookies. He apparently confided that he got “carried away by the handsome amount” promised by them. Both of them were present in his first meeting with bookies Sunil Bhatia and Kiran Dhole, Chandila told the police.
Chandila and Guddewar go back a long way. They first met during their stint with Taltalla in the Kolkata Cricket League, according to sources. Chandila joined IPL while Guddewar, aware that his cricketing career was over, ventured into betting. Eventually, he dragged in his friend Chandila too.
Meanwhile, sources said the Delhi Police recovered Rs 20 lakh from the residence of Chandila’s relative in Palwal, Haryana. Though it’s not confirmed if the money seized was in lieu of fixing spots in Mumbai or in other matches, a police officer said there was now enough material evidence to prepare a watertight case.