Kolkata Police bust alleged match-fixing, betting racket in Kolkata Premier League

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 4 : Kolkata Police has busted a match-fixing and betting racket and has arrested two people, who have "accepted their crime" after receiving a complaint from the Indian Football Association about some team managers and players in connection with alleged match fixing in the Kolkata Premier League, confirmed the Joint CP (Crime and Traffic) Rupesh Kumar.
SI (ARS) Sandip Dutta registered a complaint on November 2, and subsequently, an FIR was lodged at the Bowbazar Police Station under section 61(2)/318(4)/319(2)/ of BNS and 66, 43 of Information Act 2000 . Based on a discreet inquiry, it has been revealed that the accused people entered into a criminal conspiracy and defrauded the Indian Football Association (IFA) by fixing football matches in exchange for substantial monetary benefits.
The official revealed that Kidderpore Sporting Club's Team Manager Akash Das and Media Manager Rahul Saha, alias Raj, have been identified as the accused and were apprehended from Barrackpur and Belghoria in the North 24 Parganas district.
"Kolkata Police received a complaint from the Indian Football Association that some team managers and players of the Kolkata Premier League Football are trying to fix the match and decide the scoreline. This is benefiting those who are running betting rackets. Kolkata Police conducted an enquiry into this and talked to various people," Joint CP (Traffic) Rupesh Kumar said while speaking to reporters.
"Surveillance was kept on the suspicious people, and technical inputs were collected. We have strong evidence against two people. We have lodged a specific FIR, and based on that, these two people were arrested, and they accepted their crime. They will be presented before the High Court and we will seek their police remand," he said.
The accused have committed offences punishable under Sections 61(2), 318(4), and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66 read with Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
While confirming that the investigation is still underway, Rupesh Kumar revealed that many footballers are under the scanner and said, "The investigation is still at a preliminary stage. The roles of many footballers are on the radar since the two arrested accused were in touch with some players to fix the scoreline."