The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (December 11) granted bail to the accused in Karnataka Premier League (KPL) scam and cricketers CM Gautham and Abrar Kazi.
The order was passed by Justice KN Phaneendra of Karnataka HC. Both the cricketers were arrested by the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru City Police (BCP) in November for their alleged involvement in the betting and match-fixing scandal.
The HC has granted anticipatory bail to the owner of Ballari Tuskers, Arvind Reddy. Reddy has also been asked to not to leave the country without the permission of the court.
During the hearing of separate petitions filed by the cricketers and Reddy, the counsel representing the cricketers argued that players were questioned by the CCB sleuths and the only charges against them are for cheating under section 402 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), with a maximum sentence of seven years.
Bookies honey-trapped KPL players
Earlier, the City Civil and Sessions Court had rejected their bail application while terming the economic offence alleged against them require detailed investigation, which is yet to be completed, reported The Hindu.
On December 4, a management committee member of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Sudhindra Shinde, was arrested by the CCB for his alleged involvement in the KPL scandal.
The recent investigations had revealed that the cricket players were honey-trapped by bookies in Dubai and Mauritius. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, IPS, had said that bookies sent the players on foreign trips for shopping and entertainment, where they were provided with money, expensive gifts and escorts.
