The Delhi Police's chargesheet, likely to be filed next week, is expected explain how Dawood was not above pulling a fast one even on bookies who trusted D company's "tip offs", pointing to the treacherous world of illegal betting controlled by the don.
"Small and middle level bookies trusted the winning team information announced by D Company as this mostly turns out to be true. But sometimes, the information was faked. A wrong winning team would be named. So, while some bookies knew where to place money, others who took the D company information at face value lost. Both ways, D Company benefitted," said a senior police officer.
Apparently not one to leave things to chance, Dawood cautioned India based bookie-fixer Ramesh Vyas that he should work with "Doctor" and "Master" and ensure D Company was not duped by cricketers who failed to deliver. Doctor was code for Dubai based Javed Chautani and Master for Pakistan based Salman.
Sources said the don made good the threat - a leaf out of the Mario Puzo bestseller Godfather - of swift retribution for a cricketer reneging on the terms of a deal by using Chhota Shakeel's clout as an underworld enforcer in India.
About rates being set by Dawood personally, the chargesheet is expected to state that Pakistan based Salman "Master" was in regular touch with Tinku Mandi, Feroz, Ramesh Vyas and other big bookies in India and passed on the don's word on the odds.
This account of Dawood's direct hand in spot fixing accessed by TOI is a key part of the IPL chargesheet being given final touches by outgoing commissioner of Police Neeraj Kumar.
The chargesheet will explain how the Special Cell stumbled upon Dawood's voice in a phone tap. The cops were tracking calls from Pakistan to Dubai and had also put Dawood's number - 923333206**** - under surveillance, although the connection with the wanted terrorist was not then known.
Delhi Police managed to trace a call on the number on March 26, 2013 but remained unaware about who was on the line. Around 9.32pm the same day, a person from Pakistan used the number to speak to a Dubai number for 108 seconds and Delhi Police found the conversation to be fishy as the word IPL was used repeatedly.
Delhi Police, with the help of intelligence agencies and Research and Analysis Wing, managed to confirm that it was indeed Dawood talking to an aide. Officials claim this is the first time Indian agencies were able to capture Dawood's number and voice from an intercepted telephone call.
During calls, Dawood used code words with his aide Javed Chautani. Delhi Police has also got Ramesh Vyas's statement who has claimed that he got a call from Dawood's number and was asked to work honestly "jo bhi kaam karega, imandaari se karna (Whatever you do, do it with honesty)"
Delhi Police started tracking other bookies including Ashwini Aggarwal alias Tinku Mandi and soon Ramesh Vyas's phone and a larger racked was unearthed.
Explaining the threats held out by D Company to keep cricketers in control, officials said a statement by bookie Sunil Bhatia reveals that Tinku Mandi was asked to speak to Chhota Shakeel when cricketer Ajit Chandila did not return money to bookies. Chandila apparently coughed up the money when told about Shakeel, say sources.
Bhatia has also disclosed in his statement, which is part of chargesheet, that Tinku Mandi used to talk to Chhota Shakeel and Javed Chautani via call conferencing and Chautani was the main link to the spot-fixing scandal.
The chargesheet, sources say, would have statements of all accused persons, four witnesses of Section 164 CrPC including cricketer Sidharth Trivedi and Harmeet Singh, statements of several bookies and fixers, transcripts of several hours phone recordings and video recordings of "fixed" matches.
Officials say suspended Rajasthan Royals cricketers - S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - have also been named as main accused along with others and have been charged under MCOCA, cheating and criminal conspiracy.
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