UP T20 League faces match-fixing allegations, Bookie offers Rs 1 crore to team owner; FIR lodged

The Lucknow police have filed a FIR in response to a complaint from the BCCI‘s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) regarding an alleged effort to manipulate matches during the present UP T20 League.

The incident, which was revealed by Times Now, has surprised the cricket fraternity ahead of the final between Kashi Rudras and Meerut Mavericks on Saturday, September 6.

According to the FIR, filed on August 31, Arjun Chauhan, the team manager for Kashi Rudra, received an unusual message from an Instagram account entitled “vipss_nakrani”. The sender described himself as a major bookie and offered Rs 1 crore to influence match results, along with a Rs 50 lakh commission.

A trap was constructed after the squad management trusted ACU. ACU members began conversing on Instagram, and they quickly obtained the accused’s phone number. The accused commanded them to only use WhatsApp for calls and texts, and he required that they follow his instructions during matches. He also promised an immediate payout in cash or dollars.

The accused stated that if they desired, he and his confederates would be present at the ground grounds throughout the match and would process the payment to him immediately after it completed. The ACU recorded the talks and calls on a different device, and all of them were turned up to the police.

According to authorities, the initial inquiry points to an organised plot involving match-fixing and betting. In addition to other terms of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police confirmed that charges had been filed under sections 318, 319, 112, 62, Section 3 of the Public Gambling Act of 1867, and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act of 2000.