Stand-in captain Suresh Raina’s visit to Shirdi immediately after the IPL seems to be attracting eyeballs for all the wrong reasons. First, it was the presence of Union heavy industries minister Praful Patel’s daughter Poorna with him that had tongues wagging. Now, it is the cricketer’s picture with the man in white shirt holding his arm that is likely to get him in trouble. The man is Deepak Naraini, alias Balaji, a notorious bookie, who was arrested in 2002 and 2008. Raina is currently in the West Indies.
This is not Raina’s first brush with a bookie. The left-handed batsman was seen in the company of a woman linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2009. However, a senior ICC source had then said that the incident was probed and Raina had done nothing wrong. Raina’s presence with Balaji will again raise questions of an alleged cricketer-bookie nexus.
Balaji, a resident of Ulhasnagar, ran a small chocolate manufacturing unit till 1985 before he befriended Anil Jaisinghani, who ran a local newspaper called Atom. “They are now big players and are feared and respected for their closeness to political heavyweights in the region,” an acquaintance of the duo told DNA.
The duo’s penchant for flashy clothes, expensive cars, sunglasses and perfumes became the talk of town in Ulhasnagar. Later, they set up two books: Rajdhani & Dipu Balaji.
“And once they tied up with international syndicates, there was no looking back at all,” said a fellow newspaper owner. The duo would contact students studying abroad, ask them for their credit cards and pay them nearly Rs50,000 per month. They used the credit cards to do business with online betting majors like Ladbrokes and Betfair. “They would use these cards for their dealings for which money would be transferred via hawala,” a source pointed out.
Luck ran out for the duo when they were arrested along with eight bookies in 2002 during a raid by the then Ulhasnagar ACP Amar Jadhav. Once out on bail, they were back to their game. Six years later, in May 2008, they were arrested again for running a betting racket. Again in September 2009, Jaisinghani was arrested from hotel Avion near the Mumbai airport for allegedly operating a betting racket. “They are dangerous people and will never forget a grudge,” the newspaper owner said.
Following their rise in the betting world, the duo became greedy and wanted more. Their relation was such that they even bought vehicles of the same make and colour. Their toys included a Mercedes Benz, an Audi and Fortuner SUV. They also became followers of Shirdi’s Sai Baba and would frequently visit the pilgrim town.
Realising the business potential of the booming tourism economy, both set up Rs20 crore, 50,000 sq feet hotels across each other on the Nagar Manmad road barely two kilometres from the temple. While Deepak’s hotel is called Saisimran, his senior partner’s hotel is called Shiv Sai. Two months ago, Deepak bought another hotel – Regency – opposite the temple too, for an undisclosed sum. Together, the partners have also invested in three land parcels worth Rs40 crore, barely 0.5 km from the temple.
Known for his temper Jaisinghani has also procured two arms licences. While one is in his father Bhagwandas’s name, the other is in his wife Karishma’s name. “The latter was issued by then Thane CP SPS Yadav on the last day before his retirement,” a source said, adding “this shows his clout.”
