Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
- Ex-Vidarbha player, two bookies arrested
By Dheeraj Fartode
THE sleepy city of Nagpur again shot into big league but for all the wrong reasons. The widening probe into IPL spot-fixing scandal saw Delhi Police swooping down on three city bookies, including one former Vidarbha player. The trio were netted from Aurangabad and police said, the three were having crucial link in the scandal. One more former Vidarbha Ranji player, who now represents Indian Railways, was also named by the police and said he was absconding.
The three were identified as Manish Guddewar (32), a former player of Vidarbha, and bookies Sunil Bhatia (44), a resident of Kadbi Square, and Kiran Dole (42), a resident of Raj Nagar. The trio were picked up from Aurangabad in an early morning raid.
Guddewar had shifted to Faridabad and practiced with Ajit Chandila, who was arrested along with S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan on spot-fixing charges. He was with Chandila in the Air India team before 2000. The right-handed batsman played seven One-Dayers for Vidarbha from 2003 to 2006. Yet another Ranji player, Baburao Yadav of late was flashing his new found riches, the sources in the railways said. He had played in Under-19 World Cup for India in 1998 and had also opted for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Yadav works with Nagpur Division of South East Central Railway (SECR) in S&T Branch as Fitter. He started his Ranji career with Vidarbha and then shifted to Indian Railways. Yadav had recently constructed a house at Kamptee Road and currently leads SECR’s cricket
Bhatia had a meteoric rise
Sunil Bhatia, a history sheeter-turned-cricket bookie lives near Kadbi Square, and also has a property in Dharampeth area. He was accused in a murder case about three years ago. During last two years Bhatia had a meteoric rise and was in the top league. In fact, he is the top most bookie from the city and sources said Bhatia was hopping between Middle East and other international fixtures. In recent past, Bhatia purchased a BMW and Mercedes cars, two high end four wheeler, indicating his passion for high life.
Bhatia was named in the murder of dreaded goon Kake Sardar around nine years ago along with his accomplices Goldy and Akash. Akash was murdered over an illicit relationship. Bhatia thereafter turned to cricket and soon established himself in betting ring.
Sources said that he used to attend international cricket matches across the world. Bhatia had developed close relations with international cricket bookies and cricket players and amassed crores of rupees through betting. He runs ‘Sai Seva langar’ near Kadbi Square and travelled with thousands of Sai devotees to Shirdi. Mickey Bakshi is brother-in-law of Bhatia but the two were not on talking terms. Kiran Dole used to live in Sai-Lalit Apartment, Byramji Town, and is an associate of Bhatia. In every international tour, Dole would accompany Bhatia.
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