Bengaluru: C M Gautam, a first-class player who turned up for three IPL teams, and his former Karnataka teammate Abrar Qazi were on Thursday arrested for allegedly accepting money to spot-fix in the scandal-ridden Karnataka Premier League.
Bellary Tuskers captain Gautam, a former wicketkeeper-batsman, and his teammate Qazi were arrested by the city's Central Crime Branch, which is investigating charges of spot-fixing in the last two seasons of KPL.
"We have arrested two players with regards to KPL fixing," Additional Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil told PTI, adding that some more arrests may be made as the investigation progresses.
Both Gautham, who plays for Goa now, and Kazi, who represents Mizoram, had been named in their respective state squads for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament, scheduled to begin on Friday. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the national T20 tournament.
Police said the two were involved in fixing in the KPL 2019 finals between Bellary Tuskers and Hubli Tigers after accepting Rs 20 lakh each for slow batting. Hubli Tigers won that match by eight runs.
"They were paid Rs 20 lakh for slow batting, and for other things. Also, they fixed another match against Bengaluru team," an investigation officer said.
The arrest comes close on the heels of the detention of Bengaluru team player Nishant Singh Shekhawat earlier this week. Three others, including the owner of the Belagavi Panthers' team, have been arrested since the scandal came to light a couple of months ago.
Gautam and Qazi have played in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League as well.
The 33-year-old Gautam is a seasoned campaigner having turned up for Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
The 30-year-old Kazi played just one match for the RCB back in 2011, failing to make much of an impact. He has 17 first-class appearances to his name.
Gautam, perhaps the biggest name to be caught in the scandal, has 94 first-class games to his credit and was a regular in the Karnataka team. He shifted allegiance to Goa this season.
On October 26, Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad and batsman Vishwanathan were arrested in connection with the fixing scandal.
The coach allegedly manipulated a game between Bengaluru Blasters and Belagavi Panthers last year. The KPL fixing came to limelight with the arrest of Ali Ashfaq Thara, who owned the Belagavi team.
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Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."