KPL franchise owner arrested over alleged betting in tournament

Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Karnataka Premier League franchise Belagavi Panthers, has been arrested for allegedly placing bets in the tournament.

Belagavi Panthers owner Ali Asfak Thara has been arrested over his alleged involvement in betting in the KPL.

Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Karnataka Premier League franchise Belagavi Panthers, has been arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bangalore for allegedly betting in the tournament, The Hindu reported.

According to the report, the police are looking into his involvement in any instance of match-fixing. “Ali Asfak Thara is the prime accused in the betting racket. We have not established whether there was any match-fixing too. The players are being questioned,” Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

The report also says that the CCB began the probe after the BCCI's anti-corruption unit alerted the police. “The anti-corruption unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) alerted the police, following which the CCB took up a probe,” a source told The Hindu .

This comes just over a week after it came to light that BCCI filed an FIR against two individuals for an alleged attempt of match-fixing in women's cricket.