Meticulous bookie's home computer with names, transactions seized

Meticulous bookie's home computer with names, transactions seized
Harish Gupta

NEW DELHI, JULY 23: The skeletons keep tumbling out. This one was locked in a computer sitting in the house of a little-known bookie -- Yudhisthar Raj -- at an upmarket West Delhi Colony. And it has the potential of creating the maximum racket.

In the second leg of Operation Gentleman, Income Tax sleuths yesterday seized the hard disk of Raj's computer and several floppies during the course of a raid at his residence.

According to sources, the computer had entries of credit and debit of amounts running into crores of rupees against the names of the who's who of cricket world. Since it was raid time, the hard disk and floppies were promptly sealed.

Yudhisthar Raj did not figure in the initial list of 80 premises to be raided. His name surfaced after raids on the Defence Colony residence of Mukesh Gupta who, according to Hansie Cronje, was the bookie Azharuddin introduced him to. His ostensible occupation is construction business.

Director-General of Income-Tax (investigation) S.C. Parija has confirmedthat the computer hard disk has been sealed. ``We will start processing the names and amount only after Monday, as officers handling the raids need time to settle down,'' he said.

Parija refused to comment about the amount of money or the names listed in Raj's computer. He said that initial findings would be revealed soon.

``We are concerned about the disclosed and undisclosed income. It would take some time to establish whether the documents and wealth identified during the raids has been accounted for. At this juncture, we cannot name an individual of amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.''

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance V. Dhanajay Kumar reiterated that IT authorities had concrete evidence of undisclosed income of a largenumber of persons, including cricketers.

In a related development, Sports Minister S.S. Dhindsa said that theoffice-bearers of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) would convene in the Capital on August 1 to deliver a `code of conduct' to the players.

``We do not want to interfere in the game. But we cannot remain a silent spectator either. Some of the sports bodies are fudging records, age and indulging in all sorts of malpractices. Since they represent India, the government is a facilitator and watchdog. They must have a code of conduct. I am planning to consult the players and others to appoint watchdog bodies about their performances,'' he added.