Two arrested on fixing charges in Kolkata league
Kolkata Police arrested two officials for match-fixing in the Kolkata league, with more arrests possible as investigations continue.
Kolkata: The Kolkata Police arrested two people on charges of match-fixing in the top tier of the Kolkata league that was won by East Bengal this season. They have been remanded to 14 days’ police custody, said Anirban Dutta, general secretary of the Indian Football Association (IFA), the sport’s apex body in West Bengal, at a media conference here on Monday.
Akash Das and Rahul Saha, the two arrested, are officials of Kidderpore Sporting Club, a 108-year-old club which played in the premier division. “There could be more arrests in the future,” said Dutta.
IFA had requested Kolkata Police to look into this in 2023 after being alerted by its integrity officer, said Dutta. Measurers Club, another club in the league, too are under the scanner, said Dutta.
“Indian Football Association had complained to Kolkata Police that some team officials and players are trying to fix matches,” said Rupesh Kumar, joint-commissioner crime, Kolkata Police, at a separate briefing for journalists on Monday.
An enquiry was carried out, people put on surveillance and technical inputs collected, said Kumar. Based on this, an FIR was lodged against two people who have been arrested, he said. In the initial interrogation, they have confessed, said Kumar.
“We will ask our disciplinary committee to bar Kidderpore Sporting Club till their involvement in the fixing controversy is cleared,” said Dutta. The IFA official spoke of wanting to set up a help line where players and officials whose identities will be protected can inform IFA if an approach is made.
Dutta said at least three or four matches were under the scanner. The results of the matches, or that of the league, will not change, he said. “The charge against the teams is that they have deliberately lost. The league is over, the champions and those relegated decided. Also, this problem is being caused by a handful of people and it would be unfair to tar the whole league.”
