HYDERABAD: As many as 12 persons including students, an IT professional, and a private banker, who are part of an online cricket betting racket, were arrested by the police on Saturday.A sum of `7.05 lakh apart from a laptop, tab, LCD TV, 25 mobile phones and an I20 car were seized from them. Hunt is on for an absconding person in the racket, the police said. Explaining the modus operandi, Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat said that the key accused, Chintakindi Sai Kiran (30), a businessman, is a bookie.
Sai Kiran begins betting while getting in touch with punters as the cricket match starts. He receives the calls from punters informing them about the present rate of betting and his aides — Srikanth, Praveen Kumar and Anveshwar Rao — assisted in bank transactions online and making entries in register.
Sai Kiran learned the know-how of the business and assisted a Rajasthan- based bookie, Agarwal. “He took up his own line number from Agarwal and started organising betting from Telangana,” said Bhagwat.
The accused started to hold bettings in two districts —Hyderabad and Karimnagar — with the help of his friend Anweshwar Rao, who would help him to hold betting in his farm house from Jagadevpet, Karimnagar. Kiran also roped in Srikanth to conduct bettings in Hyderabad.
The trio procured fake SIM cards for contacting each other. They got a 10 per cent cut in the profit margin and a salary of `20,000 per month. Sai Kiran would collect advance from the punters ranging from `5,000 to `1 lakh to take bets from them and by the time he started the betting, he would already collect `10 lakh. On a tip-off, the SOT police conducted raids at Habsiguda and found the accused organising betting.
The arrested persons are Chintakindi Sai Kiran, 30, a resident of Warasiguda, main organiser and bookie, Chitikela Srikanth, 23, Royal Travels Manager, a resident of Padmarao Nagar, assistant organiser/System
Operator, Goshika Praveen Kumar, 27, driver, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Godavarikhani, Peddapally district, assistant organiser, Paruvelli Anweshwar Rao, 31, HR in GE Exports Pvt. Ltd at Madhapur, collection agent, Shandia Abishek, 24, degree student, punter, a resident of Seethaphal Mandi, Lingala Sainath, Bar Supplier at Chikadpally, punter, Palla Bharath Reddy, 25, Axis Bank employee, resident of Habsiguda, punter, Vangur David Alwin Jayakar Akshay, 26, resident of Tarnaka, punter, Annapureddy Preetham Reddy, 25, B.Tech graduate, resident of LB Nagar, punter, Gangala Ashwin Kumar, 27, Punter, Gyara Naresh, 23, degree student, punter, Bagoti Nirop, degree student, punter. Another punter Satish is absconding.
Two betting gangs busted
Hyderabad: In two separate incidents, cricket betting gangs were busted in the city for illegally taking bets placed by punters on the ongoing IPL cricket matches. In total, a sum of `1.7 lakh cash was seized, besides confiscating two television sets, a laptop, and 16 cell phones. Seven persons were apprehended for their alleged role in cricket betting. One of the incidents pertained to Shaikpet where the accused Md Hameed and Md Khaja were caught accepting bets. In another incident, two-persons from Hydershakotla, in RR district, while hatching a plan to organise a cricket betting were caught by the police. The duo are M Venu Gopal (35), and C Praveen Kumar (35).