The farce which took place on a remote farm in the village of Molipur, in the Mehsana district, reached the stage of the “knockout quarterfinals” before the organizers of the “Indian Premier Cricket League” were caught. policemen.
The gang of scammers who organized “IPL” matches on a farm in a Gujarat village accepted bets from bettors in the Russian cities of Tver, Voronezh and Moscow. The cricket matches were broadcast live on a YouTube channel labeled “IPL” for over fifteen days.
What made the big scam even bolder is that the fake matches started three weeks after the real IPL ended.
All it took to carry out the scam in real life were 21 farm laborers and unemployed youths from the village, who took turns wearing the shirts of the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans. They also did arbitrage, flaunting some walkie-talkies in front of five HD cameras. Crowd noise sound effects downloaded from the internet made the atmosphere authentic to the audience sitting in Russia.
A Meerut “commentator” with a knack for mimicking Harsha Bhogle added to the fake tournament feel, tricking punters to bet their rubles on the gang’s Telegram channel.
Mehsana police have so far arrested four people and are investigating the hawala channel used to keep this scam alive.
“Chief organizer” Shoeb Davda, who returned to Molipur after working for eight months in a famous Russian gambling pub, helped carry out the scam. “Shoeb took over Ghulam Masih’s farm and installed halogen lights there. He prepared 21 farm workers, promising them Rs 400 per game. Subsequently, he hired cameramen and bought IPL team shirts, “police officer Bhavesh Rathod said.
Shoeb later revealed to police that while working at the Russian pub, he had met a certain Asif Mohammed, who had masterminded the scam. Asif introduced Russian bettors in the pub to the nuances of cricket.
Once back in Molipur, Shoeb teamed up with Sadiq Davda, Saqib, Saifi and Mohammed Kolu, who played as referees in the fake IPL matches. Saqib, a resident of Meerut, has volunteered to be the commentator.
The first installment of bets from Russia in the amount of Rs 3 lakh had just been delivered when they were captured. “Shoeb would accept live bets on the Telegram channel. He would have instructed Kolu, the referee, via a walkie-talkie to signal four and six. Kolu communicated the same to the hitter and bowler. Acting as directed, the pitcher would deliver a slow ball, allowing the batter to hit it for a four or a six, ”Rathod said.
