BCCI washes its hands off IPL betting scandal. Here's the statement

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have refused to take responsibility for the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal which has come out following the arrest of bookie Sonu Jalan. 

Sonu is reported to have earned Rs 500 crore from betting in IPL 2018. His arrest has revealed the involvement of Bollywood producer Arbaaz Khan, who has been summoned by Thane Police for questioning.

But the BCCI have said they have nothing to do with this case. A top BCCI official told Republic TV,  "There are agencies dealing with it. It has nothing to do with IPL organisors or BCCI. If someone from outside choses to bet on IPL how do we become responsible or need to give an explanation."

The bookie is said to have clients in Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Africa and Dubai. It is reported that he placed bets on the IPL 2018 Eliminator match held between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. 

A source in the Mumbai crime branch has stated that Sonu's betting racket was directly controlled by Chota Shakeel's Pakistan based Gang of Punters. 

The Police have claimed that Sonu has put forward many allegations against Arbaaz, but no comment can be given till they question the actor himself. Though, the officials have seized a diary from Sonu's house, which had the numbers of top 50 bookies around the world.

Sources have revealed that many other Bollywood celebrities were in contact with the bookie, and earned a huge amount of money by placing bets on the T20 tournament. The actor will have to present himself to police for questioning. 

The investigative officer in this case, Pradip Sharma has submitted his preliminary report to Thane CP. He also revealed that they will have to verify some information with Arbaaz Khan then and only they will disclose the details.

This is another major scandal to hit cricket, following the match-fixing claims brought out by Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, through a sting operation, has shook the cricketing world, by showing video evidence of fixing taking place for Sri Lanka's Test against Australia in 2016, and against India in 2017 at Galle. 

Previously, in 2013, Indian Premier League was hit with controversy following revelations of match-fixing. Chennai Super Kings team director Gurunath Meiyappan was found to have contact with bookies.