There were three attempts to kill me: Lalit Modi

New Delhi: Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi on Wednesday claimed that he was threatened by the underworld and there have been three attempts to kill him for refusing to fix Indian Premier League matches.

"I was threatened considerably by the underworld for refusing to fix IPL matches. There have been three attempts to kill me. Bookies-underworld want me killed," Modi said.

Modi said he was once threatened in his house in 2009 just before leaving for South Africa, once in South Africa and once in Thailand when "I was there on a holiday".

"I was apprised of all these by the central agencies," he added.

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In another disclosure, Modi said he has received threatening calls from Pakistan, with the latest one coming as recently as last week, which has been reported to Scotland Yard.

"I was given security protection in India. The Mumbai police knew about it, the central agencies knew about it", Modi told a television channel.

Modi refused to speak further saying "I would rather not talk about it. It's a very complicated matter. It's to do with my security."

Modi's claims came in the wake of a London court's ruling in the spot-fixing scam, which found former Pakistan Test skipper Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Asif guilty.