ED has an ear for bookies

Directorate of Enforcement is tracking conversations of over 30 bookies in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata

Directorate of Enforcement is tracking conversations of over 30 bookies in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has been secretly analysing dozens of telephone numbers that belong to bookies which officials feel could lead to busting a major match-fixing syndicate.

ON CHECK: The surveillance has been made easy by a special software, which can segregate the numbers and the country to which the calls were made, particularly, Pakistan and Bangladesh. REPRESENTATION PIC

A senior ED officer said that most of the bookies (around 30), whose numbers are under surveillance, are from Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata.

The phone records could reveal the number of calls made to particular cities where matches were held, and pinpoint the associates that the bookies were speaking to during the matches.

The surveillance has been made easy by a special software, which can segregate the numbers and the country to which the calls were made, particularly, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Khabri network
ED officials have infiltrated into betting circles and have access to the latest mobile numbers used by the bookmakers. Some of the punters are doubling up as informers for the agency in return of temporary impunity. The development assumes significance in light of the fact that members of the match-fixing syndicates in London have pointed the finger to Indian kingpins.

While the ED official has refused to confirm, there are reasons to believe that the Income Tax department too is carrying out similar classified operations and keeping tabs on some players, several socialites and bookies.

Socialites at play
Sources revealed that some of the sensitive information collected by the agencies has been kept under wraps as it may lead to some bigwigs involved in the IPL matches. Investigations have indicated that some socialites had been calling cricketers during the matches. And after scrutinising some of the phone records, investigators suspect they may be acting at the behest of the bookmakers.

These startling facts were unearthed during a recent Income Tax investigation that indicated that a New Delhi-based socialite had been in constant touch with bookies during the IPL matches. Some of the operators had inside information on team selection, and venues of BCCI and IPL matches.

Pak calling
Heavy call traffic from Pakistan and Dubai -- both hubs of gangster Dawood Ibrahim's -- have been recorded during the matches.

"It is the job of the ICC's anti-corruption unit to keep tabs on the cricketers and their links with the bookmakers," said a senior officer.

MiD DAY's text messages and phone calls to Union Home Secretary GK Pillai and Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken did not yield any response.

(Inputs from Bipin u00a0Kumar Singh)

Under the scanner

ED sources said top on the list is Mumbai-based Arjun or Shoban Kalachowkie, who could be having nexus with Pakistani bookmakers and their touts. Other top bookies operating under the names of Kothari, LT and Manoj Metro, Subash Indore, Mukesh Dilli, Sunil Dilli, Julie, Pinky, Virendra Kolkata are also under the scanner.