Former U-19 cricketer nabbed in T20 ticket racket
MUMBAI, March 27 -- A cricket coach and former Under-19 (U-19) player for Mumbai has been arrested for selling tickets on the black market for the March 5 semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
"We have arrested Balwant Singh Swaroop Singh Sodha, 26, a resident of Malad, who works as a cricket coach," said an officer with the D B Marg police.
Sodha, booked under section 318 of the BNS for cheating, is the sixth person arrested for the illegal sale of tickets for the T20 tournament. Also involved in the racket is the sports teacher of an Andheri college. A member of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), the teacher had handed complimentary and paid tickets allotted to him, to touts who sold them at exorbitant rates.
Police said Sodha was a member of Mumbai's Under-19 squad until 2019 but walked away from the game, to later become a cricket coach. "He has played with several top players of the Mumbai team," said the police officer, adding that his connections will be probed.
In early March, the D B Marg police arrested the peon of a Matunga-based college, and then the sports teacher of the Andheri college. They have been linked to three other individuals, also arrested, who had advertised tickets on social media, each one going for Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000....
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