New Delhi, May 16
Indian security agencies routinely keep a watch on random calls originating from Pakistan and it was during one such screening that a series of calls were traced which had originated from numbers in Pakistan and in other countries.

The origin of the calls was a pointer that led to a deeper probe. Tracking of numbers in India resulted in unravelling the betting racket.

Originally, the fear among security agencies was that a sudden jump in calls could indicate some sinister plan linked to a terror attack.

It was found that calls originating from Pakistan had two distinct features. Some of the calls were made from Pakistan, while others originated from Dubai and routed through numbers in Pakistan.

As the agencies tracked these calls, connections surfaced between the Mumbai underworld on one end and India-based bookies on the other. The Mumbai underworld was managing its show from outside India using numbers in Pakistan and Dubai. Since the Mumbai underworld had in the past acted as a front to anti-India non-state actors in Pakistan, the agencies suspected some sinister plan.

Once the Indian bookies were identified, their numbers were also tracked.

The next task was to find out cricketers’ links to the bookies and tracking those who placed bets and made huge sums of money during the ongoing Indian Premier League.

This led to the tracking of more than 75 numbers. The numbers of Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan cropped up among those who were in touch with the bookies. The proverbial last straw came was when the police intercepted calls that revealed how left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan of Rajasthan Royals was being allegedly paid Rs 60 lakh to bowl one erroneous over in yesterday’s match against Mumbai Indians.