RAIPUR: The Baloda bazar district police of Chhattisgarh, pursuing a vital clue, busted an interstate gang operating illegal online cricket betting worth multiple crores and arrested 10 people, including their major bookies from rented houses in Delhi.
All 10 accused were part of an online IPL cricket betting syndicate. Those arrested are from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh even and the hunt is on to nab their other accomplices.
“The arrested accused were also found to be using a CBTF panel that offers cricket betting tips. We got an initial vital clue from two arrested persons engaged in online cricket betting fraud in the Bhatapara city of Baloda Bazar. We carried out extensive work on the acquired information and later sent a police team to Delhi",said Vijay Agrawal, Baloda Bazar district police chief.
"Ten bookies were arrested from two different locations in the national capital. Eight laptops, 52 mobile handsets, cash, bank chequebooks, digital devices and other paraphernalia used in the gambling operation were recovered from their place of operation”, he added.
The police suspect the modules have possible links with other betting apps. With the help of bookies using online links, many punters engaged with online cricket betting were provided with login IDs and passwords.
The accused were nabbed after the raid in Delhi and since the incriminating records and related evidence were earlier tracked down in Baloda bazar, the district police had arrested them, and further investigation will be carried out here, the SP added. The initial probe by the police has begun under Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act 2022 and 66 IT Act.
“There were several transactions with around Rs 8-10 lakh daily traced in their records recovered from the seized laptops”, said Agrawal who is running an awareness campaign to bridge the cyber literacy gap and enable citizens to make informed choices.
One of the reasons behind the crackdown on this online cricket betting racket is the Baloda Bazar cyber police personnel being familiarised with technological expertise required to intercept such crimes.