Rajkot: Video of a bookie seeking help from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he has been threatened for not paying off debts to fellow bookies after losing money in cricket betting, has prompted Rajkot police to take action. Deepak Dhanani, the man in the video, apparently recorded his “plea” on his cellphone.
Bookies and some criminals are threatening to kill him, he says in the video. He names an Ahmedabad- based bookie Meet Gujarati, who, he claims, would “torture” him if he returns home. Dhanani himself has gone missing after the video went viral.
“Namaste Narendra Modi saheb, namaste Rajkot city police commissioner saheb. My name is Deepak Jamnadas Dhanani. Bookies and criminals from Rajkot and other cities are threatening to kill me. I am in great trouble,” the video shows him saying. “I accept I have committed a big mistake. I have paid these people whatever I had made by betting on cricket and MCX and even sold my two bungalows for that. And now I have nothing left. Despite this these people visit my house and threaten to kill my father and mother. These are all criminal elements, including one from Ahmedabad whose name is Meet Gujarati. I have lost a huge amount. But have already paid Rs 5-7 crore, and I have to pay Rs 1.70 crore more but I am left with no money to give him,” he says.
Dhanani is the resident of R D Mansion Bungalows in Panchavati Society on Amin Road, which is a posh area of Rajkot After receiving the video, Rajkot Police Commissioner Anupamsinh Gelot had ordered an investigation into the whole case and directed the Malaviyanagar police to provide Dhanani family with security.
Gehlot added, “Dhanani, in the past, has been arrested multiple times by Rajkot police for cricket betting. As his video states, he owes some huge debts to fellow bookies and they have allegedly threatened his life. He has gone underground on Saturday after posting the video. As a preventive step, we have given protection to his family and registered a complaint against unnamed persons for harassing him. However, we will be conducting a thorough investigation into Dhanani to verify his allegations as well to get clarity of his role in the betting racket.”
Meanwhile, Inspector R R Solanki of Malviyanagar police station said that Dhanani’s mother and wife had visited the police station to register a complaint. “We have deployed policemen at his house to give protection,” he added. The police said that Dhanani has been involved in cricket betting for the past 10 years in which he has been arrested eight to ten times. Solanki said, “He used to run a fast food outlet to divert attention from his betting racket. We have also discovered that he lived a lavish life and owned four luxury cars and used to book VVIP boxes at the Khandheri stadium in Rajkot. He has also posted pictures of him with international IPL players like Chris Gayle, Mike Hussey and Darren Sammy.
However, we think the players were oblivious to the fact that Dhanani is a bookie.” Dhanani’s wife and mother refused to comment on the issue.
Who is Meet Gujarati?
According to the police, Meet Gujarati is a bookie from Bopal area in Ahmedabad. He is among the top-level bookies in the state and is known to have an extensive network in Rajkot which is known to host IPL games.
What is satta?
Betting on cricket or any other sport is illegal in India. However, a country-wide network of bookies accepts bets from punters on the outcome of a sporting event. Cricket, in particular, draws bets running into hundreds of crores.