MUMBAI: A bookie close to gangster Chhota Shakeel had to forgo his Versova bungalow after he lost around Rs 9 crore in betting on cricket, the police said.

Devendra Kothari, who was arrested on Wednesday and is now in police custody, had borrowed Rs 9 crore from another bookie known only as Mittal by mortgaging his 2,000 sq ft bungalow. Kothari lost the money betting heavily in the IPL and hence, was unable to repay the amount. “Kothari told us that after he lost, Mittal forcibly took over possession (of the bungalow). We will now be calling Mittal,” said an officer.

Kothari, who has been arrested for the second time in the last five years, has reportedly provided information on other bookies operating in the country. The police are now looking for over 24 bookies who accepted bets on IPL matches. These include Tinkoo from Delhi, Kiran from Ahmedabad, P K from Delhi, Sunil Abhichandani alias Sunil Dubai, Arun Shivre, Pintu Adarsh, Amit Popat, Rajesh Dahisar, Rakesh Vast, Yuvraj alias Ashok Royal, Kanti Fataka, Trimurthi alias Narayan, Arvind Dahisar and Surya Bombay.

Sources said most of the bookies are not traceable. “You can say that the betting racket has almost stopped since the last four days,” the officer said.

The police are also investigating hawala operators who helped bookies send money illegally across the border. “Kothari has disclosed names of six hawala operators through whom he used to send money to one Subhedar in Pakistan.

Sources believe that Subhedar is a Shakeel henchman who is supervising the entire betting racket spread across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries.

On Saturday, police arrested Kothari’s key man Mohammed Feroz Farid Ansari alias Todki (38), once a close confidante of slain underworld Shakeel aide, Zahid Mir alias Chhote Miya. In Mumbai, Ansari handled the business. “If anybody defaulted, it was Ansari’s responsibility to recover the money,” the officer said.

The police have recovered seven SIM cards from Ansari, which he allegedly used to received calls made by Subhedar from Pakistan and other countries. “It is surprising that central agencies failed to intercept these calls,” an officer said.

The police are also questioning Kothari over his claims that he allegedly paid a Sri Lankan player a sum of Rs 10 crore for fixing a match a few years ago. On Wednesday, the crime branch had raided Kothari’s flat in Lokhandwala, Kandivli, and arrested six persons, including Kothari and bookie Sonu Jalan. Kothari is also said to have paid Rs 1 crore to an IPS officer last year.