5 held for betting on Bangladesh Premier League

The kingpins of the racket are based on Ludhiana, Jalandhar and were taking bets from people in that area .

SUMIT KUHAR, DCP, Crime

GURGAON: Five persons were arrested for allegedly operating a betting racket in a flat at Sohna Road on Friday.

The accused allegedly took bets of cricket matches of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, the police said.

The racket was busted by the crime branch, Palam Vihar. Acting on a tip-off, the officers conducted a search at the Sohna Road apartment and arrested the accused.

Seventy four mobile phones, one laptop and a printer were seized from the accused. They were identified as Aashish, Monit Singh Bhasin, Pravin alias Pintu, An vinder Pal alias Sunny and Shivam Phutela.

“The kingpins of the racket are based on Ludhiana and Jalandhar and were primarily taking bets from people in that area and the rest of Punjab. Most betting racket kingpins now prefer to operate from locations outside their own city so that bets could be taken on the phone or online,” Sumit Kuhar, DCP, crime, said.

Police officials said that when they knocked, one of the men opened the door while the others were busy watching a live cricket telecast on a Tablet. The accused also had phones in their hand and were displaying the betting rates on a large number of phones placed on a board. On October 12, an illegal casino being run by a suspended cop in a posh South City neighbourhood was busted by the police.

A total of 43 people, including the manager, were arrested on charges of gambling. Most of the people arrested included businessmen from Gurgaon and Delhi.

On October 25, the police had arrested two persons for running a cricket betting racket from a house in DLF. A large number of mobile phones and related equipment was seized from the house.