Hyderabad (Telangana): The Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a joint operation with the Cyberabad Police, arrested seven bookies for betting on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to reports, the Rajasthan police arrested the main accused in Jaipur, and through him got information about the remaining bookies in Hyderabad.
On receipt of reliable information about online cricket betting being organised in the limits of Gachibowli police station, Special Operations Team (SOT) Madhapur apprehended the bookies accused of organised online cricket betting when on Monday they were exchanging money related to betting.
Police seized Rs 65,330 in cash, one betting board, four laptops, two tablets, 46 mobile phones, six land phones and one TV from their possession.
The six bookies are natives of Rajasthan while the seventh hails from Bihar. They were identified as Ashok Kumar Chalani, Ganesh Malchalani, Pankaj Seth, Surendhar Chalani, Shanthi Lal Baid, Beraram Purohith and Manoj Paswan.
Read: Three held for betting in Jaipur
Ashok Kumar was the key person who was organising the online cricket betting in Hyderabad with the main line access from Rajasthan.
Further, the police found that along with Hyderabad, some accused have been set up in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi through the Jaipur-based Commission. The police said that money transfers from punters were being made through a betting app.
Read: MP: Six held for involvement in IPL betting
Ashok Kumar and Ganesh had access to many persons who were betting online for commission. The profit and loss of the gamblers/punters are seen from time to time in the online betting app provided by the agents. The cash transactions of this illegal activity are largely through online payments, but in some cases, it is net cash.
It has been observed that many youths have indulged in this online cricket betting and lost large amounts of money, Cyberabad Police said.
(With inputs from agencies)
