Even as Bollywood actor and filmmaker Arbaaz Khan is giving a statement to the Thane Crime Branch about his alleged role in the IPL betting case, the police are believed to have discovered the name of a leading superstar and at least 12 others from Bollywood in the red diary of arrested bookie Sonu ‘Malad’ Jalan of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

The IPL betting racket was busted last month by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Thane Police’s Crime Branch. Jalan, who is reportedly one of the top bookies of the country, is believed to have had a close connection with Arbaaz, said Sr. PI Pradeep Sharma of the AEC. Arbaaz has been asked to join the probe into the business of Jalan who was arrested for placing bets on IPL 2018.

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The AEC cops are confident that Arbaaz is not the only Bollywood celeb in the racket. The superstar whose name has been discovered in Jalan’s red diary has a big film in the making. Another big actor whose private life has gained him much notoriety is also named in the diary. However, most of these betting transactions date back to the IPL 2016 when Jalan was most active.

Of particular interest to the police are two matches of 2016 in which Jalan and his international network of bookies and punters were said to be heavily involved. According to the police, Jalan was not operating alone for these two matches. The entire D Company was involved. It is not known if Arbaaz, who was introduced to the bookie by a business named Hanif Khan, was also embroiled.

The next big fish likely to fall in the Thane Crime Branch’s bet will be the big Bollywood superstar who is said to close to fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Jalan’s betting operation was not restricted to the IPL alone. The bookie was also involved with the Pakistan Super League, the Caribbean Premier League, Big Bash League and Bangladesh Premier League.

Sr. PI Pradeep Sharma, a former encounter specialist of the Mumbai Police, is heading the investigation and will be calling three big Bollywood producers and some financers also for questioning. Arbaaz Khan is just the tip of the iceberg. The police suspect he was heavily into betting and want to scrutinize his bank accounts. Arbaaz reportedly lost Rs. 2.80 crore to Jalan which he was not paying and the bookie was allegedly threatening the actor and filmmaker. The police claim to have photographic and electronic evidence implicating Arbaaz.