Police in Bengaluru on Tuesday arrested Bengaluru Blasters’ batsman Nishant Singh Shekhawat for his alleged involvement in a match-fixing and betting case in connection with the 2018 edition of Karnataka Premier League, according to reports. He is the second cricketer to be arrested in this case following the arrest of M Vishwanathan on October 25.
Earlier, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) which is probing the case under Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, had also arrested Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of KPL team Belagavi Panthers in September. In addition, Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad has also been arrested.
The CCB have also issued lookout circulars against two bookies who were allegedly involved in betting and fixing Karnataka Premier League (KPL) cricket matches and are currently on the run. Police believe that the arrest of the duo could lead them to international links in the betting racket and also reveal the scope of the racket. In addition, police also arrested celebrity drummer Bhavesh Bafna for allegedly approaching a player and luring him to concede more than 10 runs in an over in October.
Deccan Chronicle reported Patil as saying that it was Shekhawat who had introduced Vishwanathan and Prasad to Monty aka Manoj Kumar, a Chandigarh-based bookie.
Indian Express reported that Shekhawat had come under the police scanner following the arrest of coach Prasad and teammate Vihwanathan. Police said that they have so far established that Vishwanathan was paid Rs 5 lakh to bat slowly.
The KPL was established by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in 2009. It pits franchises based in the state in an IPL-style Twenty20 cricket tournament.
The crackdown on suspected betting and match-fixing in the KPL comes after the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) had come under the scanner of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).