Police Crackdown in Madhupura Cricket Betting Scandal: Arrest of Dubai-Based Bookie Deepak Thakkar

The police have taken significant action in the Madhupura cricket betting scandal. The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) team has arrested Dubai-based bookie Deepak Thakkar. Director General of Police Vikas Sahay stated that the head of the SMC, Nirlipt Rai, personally went to Dubai and arrested the bookie based on a red corner notice. After coordinating with various agencies, Deepak Thakkar was brought to Gujarat late at night. Along with Nirlipt Rai, Deputy Superintendent of Police K.T. Kamaria, and Police Inspector R.G. Khant also traveled to Dubai to bring the accused back to India. Earlier in this case, Police Inspector Taral Bhatt was also arrested.

Deepak Thakkar Was Imprisoned in Dubai for Five and a Half Months

According to sources from the SMC, some time ago, the investigation agency received information that Deepak was hiding in Dubai. Legal procedures were initiated to arrest him and bring him back to India. As part of this process, Interpol issued a red corner notice against Deepak Thakkar. Subsequently, the Dubai police arrested him. Deepak Thakkar had been imprisoned in Dubai for the past five and a half months. During this period, the Dubai police coordinated with the SMC, and the matter progressed based on the extradition treaty. The Dubai court granted permission to send Deepak Thakkar back to India, and the SMC team went to Dubai to bring him back. He was brought back to India on Saturday.

Deepak Alias Deluxe Dheerajlal Thakkar’s Background

Deepak, also known as Deluxe Dheerajlal Thakkar (resident of Ambikanagar Society, Bhābhar, currently residing in Dubai), owned an office named VVIP Software on the 11th floor of PNTC Complex in Vejalpur, Ahmedabad. He was involved in illegal share market trading using the Meta Trader application on the Velocity server for illegal dabba trading. He also conducted unauthorized share market deals.

Extradition Request Sent on June 25 Approved, SMC Took Custody

Since Deepak was evading arrest, a warrant under Section 70 of the CRPC was obtained from the honorable court. Later, based on information that the accused had left the country using passport number P7436711, a lookout notice was issued against him on July 12, 2023. Following a request made by the Government of India to Interpol, a red corner notice was issued against him on December 15, 2023. Based on this notice, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) police arrested Deepak alias Deluxe Thakkar on March 13, 2023, and requested an extradition request. Consequently, the Gujarat government’s Home Department, through the Central Government’s Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, sent an extradition request to the UAE on June 25, 2024. After approval of this request, the SMC team reached Dubai to take custody of the accused, where he was detained.

Religious Writing Pad and Diary Seized

From Deepak Thakkar, an old passport number P7436711, a new passport number 26486064, 1,980 dirhams of UAE currency, a large writing pad with religious writings, and a small pocket diary containing names and mobile numbers of various individuals were seized.

47 IDs Found for Dabba Trading in Share Market

In the office named VVIP Software on the 11th floor of PNTC Complex, where Deepak alias Deluxe Thakkar conducted illegal share market deals, equipment like an all-in-one computer, laptop, and mobile phone were seized from previously arrested accused Prakash alias Chiku Narayanbhai Mali and Amit alias Mukesh Maheshbhai Khatri. From these, 47 IDs for illegal dabba trading and financial transactions were found. So far, 36 accused have been arrested in this case, and the investigation is ongoing.

Who Is Deepak Thakkar?

Deepak Thakkar is originally from Bhābhar village in Deesa Taluka, Banaskantha. He is around 43 years old. He operated betting through an application used for dabba trading. Deepak operated the betting business from Dubai, and the money was transferred to Dubai through the hawala system. This application had about two lakh active users. According to initial information, Deepak Thakkar went to Dubai for the first time before the lockdown, where he rented a flat and opened an office.

What Was the Entire Incident?

When Taral Bhatt was serving in PCB Ahmedabad, a major network of betting and dabba trading worth more than ₹2,300 crores was busted in Madhupura. The Madhupura betting scandal is the largest betting scandal in Gujarat. The investigation revealed connections to Dubai in cricket betting. After this, several accused involved in the Madhupura betting scandal fled to Dubai. At that time, 111 accused were identified in this case, out of which 35 were arrested, and 76 were absconding. Among them, one accused, Parth Doshi, was caught from Amritsar. Parth Doshi was arrested by SMC as soon as he landed at Punjab’s Amritsar airport from Dubai.

Parth Doshi Was the Main Architect Providing Super IDs for Betting

Parth Doshi is the 35th accused in the Madhupura betting scandal case. It was revealed that Parth was the main architect providing super IDs for online cricket betting. SMC’s investigation also revealed that Parth Doshi provided IDs not only in India but also abroad. The main accused, Parth Kamleshbhai Doshi, who provided super master IDs for online cricket betting, had been living in Dubai for many years, creating and supplying super master IDs for online cricket betting to various individuals.