New Delhi (India) June 4: Lalit Modi, ex chief of Indian Premier League, said he walked away forever from the cricket administration as the constant threat and life threatening intimidation by notorious underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his network was one of the major reasons.
In an interview with news agency ANI, the founder of India’s T20 league narrated several instances of extortion attempts, assassinations plans and a dramatic late-night confrontation via satellite phone with the fugitive gangster.
Lalit Modi Recalls Late-Night Dawood Call
According to Modi, the “most direct interaction” happened in London in 2012 when a fixer in London called him up at 3:30 am to coerce him into coming to a penthouse of a highly connected businessman.
Modi claimed the intermediary dialled Dawood Ibrahim on a satellite phone, switched the speakerphone on, and made the fugitive talk to him.
"I pissed in my pants, I'll tell you this. Without doubt. Right there and then," Modi said.
"He simply says, 'Abhi se tumhara sab kaam khatam' and put down the phone.”
Weekly Extortion Demands Followed
Modi stated that after this meeting, a wave of weekly calls began where the intermediary asked for “hush money” for the syndicate’s demand to have a franchise.
The syndicate reportedly asked Modi to pay them because his decisions had cost them a lot in the underground satta bazaar or gambling market.
IPL Shift Hurt Betting Syndicates
According to Modi, the conflict with the syndicate escalated significantly in 2009 during the second season of IPL. In 2009, in 48 hours, in less than 2 days, Lalit Modi moved the whole of India Premier League to South Africa. The sudden shift destabilized the whole of the world's betting, illegal betting, and underworld. The syndicate was holding very high bets that this tournament is not going to happen, so they wanted to do a big strike on Modi.
“They accused me of moving IPL to South Africa when they thought it's not ever going to move because they ate the bets up," Modi said.
He added, "So they lost a lot of money apparently. They wanted me to make good that money. I didn't ask them to take the bet.”
Modi Alleges Multiple Attack Plots
Modi added that his no-nonsense approach towards fixing during his tenure as chairman of IPL (2008-2010) was another major reason that riled the mafia. He admitted to stopping any spot-fixing and barring notorious people from entering the stadium while turning down bribe money of several crores.
Following this, all the hits started happening, according to Modi. He cited a shooting outside his residence in Mumbai, an aborted hit in Johannesburg and another one intercepted at the Croatian border as instances. He also alleged an attempted abduction of his son in Sloane Street in London.