Mumbai, May 18: Shobhan Mehta, one of India’s biggest bookies, was today remanded in police custody in what sources said could trigger Mumbai police’s first serious investigations into the shadowy world of cricket betting and match-fixing.

Mehta was taken into custody by the crime branch after the sessions court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail yesterday. He was later arrested by the police on charges of cheating and under sections of the anti-gambling act and the Indian telegraph act.

Mehta, alias Shobhan Kalachowkie, was produced before a local metropolitan court today amid tight security and remanded in custody till May 21.

Although Mumbai is one of the biggest centres for betting syndicates with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore, the city police have never launched a serious probe into the business. Mehta’s interrogation, crime branch officials hope, will throw significant light on the nature of cricket betting and whether the ghost of match-fixing continues to haunt the sport in India.

Mehta’s arrest came after the crime branch busted an illegal telephone network run by an STD booth owner, Ramesh Shah, on Grant Road last month.

Investigations showed that Shah was renting out a network of illegal telephone lines to cricket bookies who used them to take bets from Indian as well as international clients. Shah’s telephone lines were found to be busy for eight hours at a stretch, and frequent calls were made to Dubai and Pakistan, police sources said.

Investigations led the sleuths to hawala kingpin and bookie Nemichand Jain, though Mehta continued to evade arrest.

With the police hot on his heels, Mehta applied for anticipatory bail on Monday. But the court rejected his plea and directed the police to take him into custody.

“We will probe all aspects of the case, including his complicity in match-fixing. We know that it may open a can of worms,” said an officer who is part of the investigating team.

The investigation, officials said, will explore links with Karachi-based don Dawood Ibrahim and his associate Chhota Shakeel.