Eight bookies arrested from Pakistan for threatening Zulqarnain
April 27th, 2011 - 11:11 am ICT by ANISialkot, April 27(ANI): A gang of eight bookmakers, allegedly involved in threatening Pakistan cricket team’s former wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, has been arrested from Sialkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
The now retired wicketkeeper had stunned one and all by fleeing the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai hours before the final one-day international against South Africa last year. After reaching London, he had claimed that he had got death threats from a person who wanted him to fix matches, and subsequently sought asylum in the United Kingdom.
Zulqarnain, however, voluntarily withdrew his application for asylum in Britain after the Pakistan government assured him and his family of “the highest level of security” in the country, and returned to Pakistan on Monday despite receiving threatening telephone calls, warning him of dire consequences if he arrived in the country.
The police arrested the eight cricket bookies from the Sambrial area, and recovered 250 mobile phones along with weapons.
According to the police, the arrested bookies belong to the group accused of threatening Zulqarnain.
Superintendent Police Investigation, Nasir Qureshi, told Dunya News that during the interrogation, the bookies also threatened the police and said that they have contacts in very high places.
According to the police, international calls were being made from the telephones that were being used by the bookies.
The police said that the interrogation is still underway, and some serious disclosures are expected to be made. (ANI)
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Tags: asylum, bookies, bookmakers, consequences, death threats, disclosures, haider, international calls, interrogation, mobile phones, pakistan cricket team, pakistan government, pakistan team, police investigation, punjab province, south africa, superintendent, team hotel, telephones, wicketkeeper