Delhi police pick up Shakeel aide in IPL spot-fixing case

The special cell of the Delhi police on Tuesday picked up Chhota Shakeel’s aide Firoz Ansari for questioning in connection with the IPL spot-fixing case.

However, the Mumbai police say that Firoz hasn’t been involved in betting since the past one year and suspect that he is being falsely implicated by his rival, Ramesh Vyas.

According to the police, Vyas, 52, who was arrested with two aides from his Kalbadevi hideout during a police raid on May 14, rose through the ranks after the arrest of Ansari, a trusted aide of Chhota Shakeel, Dawood’s man Friday, in May last year for his alleged involvement in an IPL betting racket.

“Vyas stepped into Ansari’s shoes and became the go-between for Pakistani and Indian bookies and this was the main reason for their rivalry,” said a crime branch officer.

One of Pakistan’s top bookies, Haji Naim, was in direct contact with Shakeel’s aide Chhote Miyan alias Zahid, say sources. After Miyan was gunned down in Nagpada in 2009, Ansari, a Nagpada resident, allegedly became in charge of the Mumbai betting scene. He was arrested during a police raid at an apartment in Mumbai’s western suburbs along with five others, including two top bookies Sonu Malad alias Batiya and Deven Kothari alias Bhaiji.

“The Delhi police have picked Ansari up for questioning in connection with their case. As per our information, Ansari hasn’t been into betting since his arrest. There is a possibility that Vyas, who is Ansari’s rival, has dropped his name to the Delhi police in order to implicate him in the case,” said the officer.

He added that since the Delhi court has dropped charges under MCOCA in the IPL spot-fixing case, a lot of bookies who had gone underground or fled the country in fear could surrender themselves before the police.

Blame game
Mumbai police suspect that Chhota Shakeel’s aide Firoz Ansari is being falsely implicated by his rival Ramesh Vyas.

They say Ansari was not involved in betting since the past one year.

One of Pakistan’s top bookies, Haji Naim, was in direct contact with Shakeel’s aide Chhote Miyan alias Zahid.  After Miyan was gunned down in 2009, Ansari, a Nagpada resident, became in-charge of the Mumbai betting scene.