VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada police busted online cricket betting racket and arrested nine persons for organising betting at an apartment in Murali Nagar under Penamaluru police station limits on Saturday.
The accused were identified as V Kalyan Chakravarthi (39), K Ravi Kiran (42), M Kesava Reddy (33), K Chandrasekhar (26), R Srinivas Rao (31), T Sudhakar (40), P Kutumba Rao (43), Md Kalillulah (45) and T Siva Shankar (28), all residents of Vijayawada. They formed a team and organising betting on IPL matches for the past one month.
Addressing the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP - L&O) V Harshavardhan Raju said that the Commissioner’s Task Force (CTF) received information that the accused were organising cricket betting from a rented apartment in Murali Nagar and caught them red-handed while taking bets from punters. He said five persons are bookies and the rest are sub-bookies, operators and cash collecting agents.
“The accused were using a betting app called ‘Cricket Mazza’ available on Google Play Store and accepting bets using referrals through their friends and relatives. The accused were caught as they were placing bets on cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Night Riders,” said DCP Harshavardan Raju. The police also seized Rs 7.5 lakh cash, a TV, one laptop, a communicator device and 13 mobile phones from their possession. “A case has been registered against the accused under AP Gaming Act and they will be produced in the court on Monday,” the DCP added.