KPL betting: Bookies blackmailed players through honey-trapping

News Network
November 21, 2019

Nov 21: In a new development in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) match-fixing scandal, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao on Wednesday revealed that players had allegedly been blackmailed through honey-trapping tactics by bookies.

The police commissioner shared new details of the scandal while announcing that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was being formed within the Central Crime Branch (CCB), which is currently investigating the match-fixing scandal that has jolted the league.

Bhaskar Rao said that bookies filmed players enjoying themselves on luxurious trips. The players were sent on trips to places like Dubai and the Caribbean. They were provided with five-star accommodation, money and escorts. Their activities were filmed and they were later blackmailed with the videos from their trips. Worried that the tapes would be leaked, the players followed bookies' instructions, the Deccan Herald reported.

The police commissioner added that some of the results of matches played in the league were decided before the matches began.

The match-fixing scandal came to light in September this year with the arrest of Belagavi Panthers owner Ali Asfak. Since then, details have slowly emerged revealing a wide web of match-fixing in the Twenty20 cricket league, by bookies.

Former Karnataka cricketers CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi were arrested by the CCB on charges of fixing in the KPL final held in March this year.

Gautam, who was the captain of Bellary Tuskers, and Abrar who plays for the same team, allegedly accepted Rs 20 lakh for "slow batting" in the final against Hubli Tigers. Bellary Tuskers lost the final by 8 runs and the manner in which they lost has now raised suspicions of a match-fixing scandal.

Chasing 153 runs, Bellary Tuskers ended their innings at 144. Opening batsman Gautam scored a 37-ball 29 while Kazi struck 13 off six deliveries.

KPL is run by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) every year on the lines of the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Bhaskar Rao said that the regulatory bodies - KSCA and BCCI - should have acted soon after the scandal came to light and confirmed that members of both bodies will be summoned for interrogation.

In all, seven people have been arrested in connection with the scam. Investigating officials had recently issued a ‘lookout circular' against the Bellary Tuskers team owner Arvind Venkatesh Reddy.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Shimoga, May 10: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was all praise for a nine-month pregnant nurse, who is still attending to work at a Covid-dedicated hospital in the state, braving all odds in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic.

Roopa, a resident of Gajanur, works at the Sri Jayachamarajendra Taluk Hospital in Tirthahalli.

The Chief Minister called the nurse up and admired her sense of duty after he came to know that she has been turning up at the hospital despite being in the advanced stage of pregnancy.

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News Network
January 5,2020

Udupi, Jan 5: The district administration has identified 460 beneficiaries who will be allotted flats at Herga under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, informed MLA Raghupati Bhat.

Speaking to reporters here on Sunday he said the Udupi Municipal Council will construct the apartments in the 8.22 acres of land earmarked for the purpose at Herga. The flats will be ready before April 2021.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 5: Amulya Leona, the 19-year-old woman who captured a nation’s attention by shouting full-throated slogans, allegedly in support of Pakistan, at a rally in Bengaluru, has reportedly held her composure under grilling by the Special Investigating Team (SIT).

The woman was arrested after her speech to an audience of protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act on February 19, and was slapped with sedition charges.

Sources in the police said Amulya Leona seemed to be absolutely normal during interrogation by senior cops, unlike most other persons in such circumstances.

Not once throughout the grilling nor in judicial custody did she break down.

Amulya is said to have defended herself on charges that she shouted pro-Pakistan slogans. She made it clear that by speaking out at the rally at Freedom House, she did not mean to support the enemy country and that she was not against India.

Lower-rung officers said Amulya Leona seemed to be considerably influenced by the late firebrand activist Gowri Lankesh, who was shot dead in 2017.

In fact, the policewomen to whose charge she was entrusted right after she was arrested are said to have heaved a sigh of relief when she handed over to custody of prison staff.

An urban legend going around in lower-rung police circles is that Amulya Leona attended the funeral of Gowri Lankesh and fainted near where the late activist was buried. “It’s impossible for a 19-year-old to show such grit. We have seen hardcore criminals breaking down in custody. Forget about breaking down, Amulya Leona is becoming stronger,” they explain.

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