The police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have busted an IPL betting racket by conducting a raid at a hotel in Bhiwandi, resulting in the arrest of three individuals from Chhattisgarh. The operation, which took place on April 25, was a joint effort by the Special Task Force and the Anti-Extortion Cell of the Thane police’s crime branch.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivraj Patil disclosed in a press conference on Friday that the arrested trio was caught taking bets on the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. They were found to be using mobile applications to facilitate the betting, and collectively amassed ₹11,86,811 from people.
IPL Commissioner Said
“The trio had obtained SIM cards by forging documents. During the raids, the police seized 12 mobiles, one tablet and laptop each collectively valued at ₹1.97 lakh from them,” Patil said.
Efforts are currently underway to locate and apprehend a fourth accused, who is believed to have partnered with the arrested trio and operated the racket from Chhattisgarh. The fourth accused allegedly collected ₹7,03,000 from individuals placing bets.
During the raid, the police seized 12 mobile phones, one tablet, and a laptop, collectively valued at ₹1.97 lakh, from the arrested individuals. The accused had reportedly obtained SIM cards through forged documents.
An FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 34 (common intention), at the Kongaon police station.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Shekar Bagde stated that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fourth accused, who operated the racket from Korba in Chhattisgarh. The arrested individuals were identified as Shannu Lalit Berival, Rajat Babula Sharma, and Vijay Sitaram Devgan.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and Instagram
