A cricket-related cheating case was reported here on Sunday after the organisers of a tournament disappeared having taken money from various cricket teams of the state.
The city flaunted banners for the past 15 days declaring a two-day Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament that would be held at Sir M V Stadium here under the banner of Reddy Brothers.
It was announced that the first prize would be `2 lakh, second prize `1 lakh and the man of the series would be awarded a motorbike. Entrance fee for the teams was fixed at `10,000, which a number of teams from Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar, Tumkur, Shimoga and Mandya had paid.
Seven teams from across the state played on Saturday, but the organisers were nowhere to be found on Sunday.
When contacted, their mobiles were switched off and the numbers were diverted. The players who had paid the entrance fee returned to their native places.
Despite the cheating, none of the players lodged a police complaint. A player from Bangalore said they had come with a lot of hope to Chikballapur and this was a pre-planned cheating.
Umpires Cheated
The organisers promised the umpires that they would be paid `5,000 each and allotted a room in a lodge. Sources said even the hotels were not paid any money. The pandal for the tournament was set up by a tent owner of Kolar, who came all the way to Chikballapur a day before the matches and put up it. He was also not paid and ended up paying for the tempo from his own pocket.