3 coaches arrested for promising IPL selection, duping aspirants of crores

The Property Cell of Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested three coaches for duping aspiring cricketers by taking money in lieu of getting them selected to Indian Premier League (IPL), East Africa Premier League and Ranji trophy teams.

Police identified the three arrested persons as Vijay Barhate (40), Jeevan Mukadam (25) and Dinesh More (26) of the RN Sports Club.

Barhate, the scam’s mastermind, reportedly ran the club and had entered into a legitimate tie-up with IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad for scouting talent a few years back. The franchise, however, ended the contract after learning about his wrongful ways.

But despite the contract’s termination, the accused continued using the team’s logo and pictures to prove his affiliation with them and scam aspiring cricketers.

The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint filed by a 35-year-old cricket coach who approached Chembur police earlier this week stating that he and his players were cheated by the accused between August 2013 to December 2014.

According to the complainant, who coaches cricketers at Azad Maidan, the accused told him that they are the official selectors for an IPL team – Hyderabad Sunrisers – and they can select his players for the team.

They also told him that his players could get a chance to play in East Africa Premier League and Ranji Trophy too.

The accused contacted the complainant through email and also used Hyderabad Sunrisers team logo on the sports club’s letter-head to convince the complainant that they were connected to the team, he said.

Police said that the accused collected Rs 68.07 lakhs from the players and the coach to facilitate their selection. The players realised they had been cheated when they got no intimation of any selection from the RN Sports Club later.

Aspirants from Delhi, Hyderabad, and a few other cities have also filed cheating-related complaints against the club.

Incidentally, not every victim filed an official complaint against Barhate or his team as he often returned a part of the initial amount while claiming that the remaining was used to bribe officials and foot their hotel/restaurant bills.

“In the last two years, the gang duped more than 100 cricketing candidates. The amount involved could be in crores only if all those duped come forward and register complaints,” Assistant Police Inspector Laxmikant Salunke told TOI.

Police based on the complaint registered a case under sections pertaining to cheating under the Indian Penal Code as well as sections of the Information Technology Act.

The accused were produced before the court which sent them to police custody till December 4.