by Bar girl loses Rs 1.5 cr in cricket bet
By: Nishant A Bhuse
September 5, 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crorepati bar dancer Tarannum Khan, popularly called Tannu, lost Rs 1.5
crore on August 9, when she lost her wager after India lost to Sri
Lanka in the finals of the Videocon Cup.
This came to light when IT officers found smses from bookies on her
mobile phone.
"The SMSes use bookie language and it is likely that she was involved
in the betting business. We have forwarded the details to the Mumbai
police," said IT Commissioner HO Tulsian.
Bookie bar girl
Investigations by Mid Day also revealed that two bookies operating in
the western suburbs were Tannu's regular customers. One of the
bookies - a regular visitor to Deepa bar in Vile Parle - admitted
that Tannu was a front for some high-class clients during the recent
India-Sri Lanka-West Indies series.
Sri Lankan spinner
A Sri Lankan spinner who visited Tannu when the team toured India is
known to have fixed hawala and betting deals through her. He had
allegedly assured her that the series had been fixed in India's
favour.
When Lankans won in the finals, Tannu not only lost big money but also
had to face customers who had put their money on India on her advice.
Police raid
"Among Tarannum's clients are several Bollywood actors and
cricketers from Sri Lanka and Pakistan including a record breaking
Lankan spinner," said a police officer.
"Two years ago when the police raided the bar, two Lankan cricketers
and a small-time Bollywood actor escaped from the VIP room through the
kitchen exit," said Sachin Shah, a Deepa bar regular.
Lankans did no wrong
Not all concur with the view that hawala transactions or betting were
the purpose of the visits by the Lankan cricketers.
"The Lankan players visited the bar around three times a year and
rarely stayed beyond an hour. I don't believe they did anything
beyond showering around Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 on Tannu and other
dancers," said an ex-employee of Deepa bar.
Too early to comment
The smses seized by the IT department, indicate links between the
dancer and bookies. But it is too early to draw conclusions at this
juncture," said DCP Dhananjay Kamalakar. Meanwhile, the police have
asked Tannu's mobile service provider to compile a contact list of
her clients.
Who is Tarannum?
Tannu was asked to leave Om Palace bar, Kandivli where she began her
dancing career in 1999 because of an affair with the manager.
During that time she resided in the Malwani slums, after which she
shifted to Mira Road. In 2001, Tannu joined Deepa bar as a dancer, and
shifted to Oshiwara.
Tannu became very popular in the next three years on account of her
excellent rapport with high-profile clients. One, a proprietor of a
motorbike company that launched a popular 250 CC model in 1985, gifted
her the Tanishq bungalow in Versova