Arbaaz Khan may have placed bets on IPL matches: Thane Police

Actor Arbaaz Khan has been summoned by Thane Police after his name cropped up during the interrogation of a bookie called Sonu Jalan.

Thane: The police here on Friday issued summons to Bollywood actor and film-maker Arbaaz Khan for recording his statement on Saturday in connection with an alleged IPL betting racket, officials said.

In a letter sent to Arbaaz on Friday, the police asked him to join the probe in the wake of arrest of an alleged bookie who was placing bets on the recently-concluded Indian Premier League, a police official said.

The racket was busted on May 15 by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Thane Police's crime branch with the arrest of four people in Mumbai, including Sonu Jalan alias Sonu Malad, who is believed to be one of the top bookies of the country, the official said.

During the investigation, a "connection" between Jalan and Arbaaz has been established, said Senior Inspector Pradeep Sharma, head of the AEC.

The actor has been asked to appear at the AEC office here tomorrow.

"We suspect that Khan had placed bets on IPL matches and want to scrutinise his bank transactions," another police official told PTI.
Arbaaz allegedly lost Rs 2.80 crore in betting to Jalan and was not paying the amount, following which the bookie had threatened the actor, the official said, citing the interrogation of the arrested accused.

Arbaaz could not be contacted for comments despite several attempts.

Jalan allegedly ran his betting racket from Dombivli in Thane district of Maharashtra.

The summons, sent to Arbaazs Bandra residence, stated that Jalan has been arrested in connection with the case under sections 420,465,468,471rw 34 of the IPC, section 4(A),5 of the Gambling Act and also IT Act 66A registered in the Dombilivi police station.

Jalan had been arrested for betting on IPL matches by the Mumbai crime branch in 2012 too, the official added.