NEW DELHI  - Bollywood starlet Nupur Mehta on Monday refuted reports of her involvement in any match-fixing ring which allegedly used the actor as honeytrap to lure cricketers. Mehta warned that she will take legal action against the British paper The Sunday Times which came out with the report and used her picture in it.
Mehta said that she has no personal attachment with any cricketer and she is just a fan of cricket like many others. She also denied that she had connection with any Bookmaker.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday said that it would investigate allegations that Indian bookmakers, with the help of a Bollywood actor, are luring cricketers into throwing games — the IPL, English county championship matches as well as other international fixtures, as reported by the Sunday Times.
The paper carried a picture of the actor, with the face blurred. Nupur Mehta on Monday said that the picture carried by the paper was of her from the film Jo Bole So Nihaal. “Attractive girls are the ideal choice to cosy up to players and to persuade them to work for bookmakers,” an unnamed bookie was quoted saying. “Players are always surrounded by fans and groupies so nobody suspects a thing when they walk in and out of players’ hotel bedrooms.”
In the front-page article — English Cricket In Bung Scandal — the newspaper said tens of thousands of pounds were being offered to players to throw part or all of international matches, including last year’s World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan. There were no details to back the charge. India went on to win the championship.
The ICC probe will be based on what alleged bookies in Gurgaon told the Sunday Times’ undercover reporters. Posing as bookies, they spoke to a Vicky Seth, described as “an influential Delhi bookmaker”, and another “bookie”, Monubhai. The two boasted of routinely fixing Tests and Twenty20 games in the IPL, which begins its fifth season April 4, and Bangladesh Premier League that held its inaugural competition in February.
Batsmen were being offered typically £44,000 (Rs 35lakh) for slow scoring, £50,000 (Rs 40 lakh) for bowlers who concede runs and as much as £750,000 (Rs 6 crore) to players or officials who can guarantee the outcome of a match, the newspaper said.
“Any match that is televised is good for us, which is why English county cricket is a good new market,” Seth was quoted as saying. “They are low-profile matches and nobody monitors them.” Monubhai claimed to have worked with players from most of the major cricketing nations. The only country not named was Australia. “I was invited to strike a deal with some New Zealanders but didn’t go. The IPL starts on April 4 then everyone will be doing it (match-fixing),” he told the paper.
The investigation was done by the same reporter who exposed spot-fixing in the 2010 England-Pakistan Test series that led to three Pakistani cricketers being jailed in the UK.