Police made their third arrest in an alleged match-fixing case and revealed foreign connections linked to the man — Sujoy Bhowmik, 37, alias Mon — who was allegedly receiving funds from abroad for fixing matches during the Calcutta Football League.
Bhowmik, a resident of Beleghata, was arrested on Tuesday night in Petrapol while allegedly trying to flee India and cross into Bangladesh.
Police said he was a key intermediary between the players and the betting syndicates and played a role in luring players into the match-fixing operations.
Investigators learned that Bhowmik would contact players before matches, often taking them to local hotels under the guise of a team meeting. Once there, he would allegedly offer money for match-fixing in the presence of other members of the betting syndicate.
“The players who were involved would follow signals during the match to understand the desired scoreline. Caps and specific coloured apparel served as signals, which were given from the gallery, mostly after half-time. Each colour or item of clothing had a specific meaning that the players had to follow,” said a senior officer.
Bhowmik is also accused of recruiting players for smaller clubs, particularly goalkeepers and defenders from outside Bengal, whom he allegedly manipulated for the fix.
Sources said that during the investigation, Bhowmik had been attempting to destroy electronic gadgets tied to the operations. “Several electronic devices were used to coordinate with betting syndicates and fix matches. We are in the process of retrieving the evidence,” said an officer.
The two others arrested in the case are Kidderpore Sporting Club’s team manager Akash Das and media manager Rahul Saha. Police said Bhowmik had direct links with Das.
Police are now working to identify the players Bhowmik was in touch with. Joint commissioner of police (crime), Rupesh Kumar, said Bhowmik was produced in court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody until November 17. Das and Saha are already in custody.