Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 21: Investigations into the reported betting scandal covering Karnataka Premier League (KPL) have taken an interesting turn based on the revelation that the players were trapped in the web of match fixing scandal through honeytrap.

Central crime bureau here has reached to this finding. City police commissioner Bhaskar Rao, said that the investigations so far have found that the services of a few cheer girls and some young ladies were used to honeytrap players. Through this, the players were then forced to give their nod for match fixing, he stated.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday November 20, Rao said that seven persons who were involved with these incidents have already been arrested. "During the interrogation of the arrested persons, we have come across some explosive information. We have come to know that the players who got caught in the honeytrap plan were forced to be a part of the scandal. "Both the Karnataka State Cricket Association and Board for Control of Cricket in India have special squads to keep an eye on such wrongdoing. It is surprising that this scandal did not come to their notice. Therefore, we have given impetus to this investigation," he stated.

Rao revealed that the players who cooperated with the match fixing mafia were offered money that was much more than what they would have got when their teams became victorious. Efforts are also made to force the players to be part of the scandal by sending them on foreign trips and five star hotels, he said.

"A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed for the purpose within the central crime bureau. I have instructed them to conduct investigation just like SIT and get complete details of the teams represented by the players concerned. Probe will continue without getting affected by external influences," he confirmed.

In the meantime, several senior cricket lplayers have supported the ongoing police inesdtigation into match fixing scandal. They have expressed satisfaction that the task of cleaning up the cricket in the country has been undertaken and urged the police not to end their probe until they reach to the bottom of the malaise.