Actor Arbaaz Khan has reportedly confessed to the police that he places bets on IPL matches and has been doing so for the past six years. Khan was summoned by the anti-extortion cell of the police in Thane, Maharastra after a renowned bookie was arrested on 15 May.
Pradeep Sharma, a senior inspector with the anti-extortion cell (AEC) told The Times of India that Khan's name came up during Jalan's interrogation. The report states that Khan was grilled by the police in the presence of Jalan. "Our initial estimate of the turnover of the betting scam run by Jalan is Rs 1,000 crore. His network could involve nearly 3,500 punters," he said.
According to a report on NDTV, the actor told the police that he had lost Rs 2.80 crore in a bet during the latest IPL series and had not paid the bookie. He added that Jalan had threatened him because he was not being able to pay him the money.
Meanwhile, Indian Premier League's chairman Rajiv Shukla told the media that they or the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were not involved with Khan or in any form of betting.
"The matter is with the police, we have nothing to do with it. Both BCCI & ICC have anti-corruption units, police can coordinate with them," Shukla said.
Jalan was arrested on 15 May along with four other bookies after the AEC busted a high profile betting racket. The police told reporters that Jalan works with a cricket betting kingpin called 'Junior Kolkata'. A source told The Times of Indiathat the bookie's diary has reveled the names of several other Bollywood celebrities.
"My statement has been recorded. Police asked whatever they needed in this investigation and I answered them. I will continue to cooperate with them," Khan told reporters.