On the 2nd of June, Arbaaz Khan, brother of Salman Khan, was brought in for questioning by the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell regarding his involvement in the Indian Premier League betting case. Arbaaz’s name was brought up after the arrest of one of the most notorious bookies of India – Sonu Jalan, on Tuesday. As of yet, Arbaaz Khan remains one of the prime witnesses in the IPL booking has which has had the Indian police on their toes since 2017.
The AEC reported that they had requested Arbaaz to be present at the AEC office in Court Naka, Thane, where they would be able to record his statement as soon as possible. Arbaaz arrived at the scene around 4:30 pm on Saturday, and was escorted by Shera, his brother Salman’s personal bodyguard himself. In a statement to the news reporters outside the office, Khan declared that he was cooperating with the investigation as much as he could, and intended to give the police all the information that he had. According to the police, both Sonu Jalan and Arbaaz admitted to knowing each other for over five to six years, and during their time together, had been involved in various levels of betting in cricket matches.
The AEC also released a statement later announcing that they had seized a land-holding machine, which was used for cricket betting in India and to mass place bets on ongoing matches, from Jalan’s residence in Malad. A diary recovered at the same location apparently had handwritten names and phone numbers of over 100 punters and 50 dealers in the game. The police had also uncovered many call records and photos of Jalan and Khan together, leading to a confession from the former stating that the duo had attended a match betting meeting in Dubai last year.