Goa: Three bookies from Madhya Pradesh held for IPL match betting

Panaji, April 22 (IANS) Three bookies from Madhya Pradesh involved in betting on a T-20 IPL cricket match were arrested in Goa’s Calangute along with digital equipment and phones worth Rs 1.10 lakh, an official said on Tuesday.

The three accused, who were accepting bets online on the match between Kolkata Night Riders and Gujarat Titans on Monday, were identified as Ankit Rathore (34) from Bhopal; Badal (32) from Sagar; and Ajay (32) from Sagar, the police said.

Calangute Police registered a case against three individuals following a raid past midnight on Monday.

The raid was conducted between 12:35 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. at Flat No. 203, Arsh’s Nest, Saldana Kayle Garden, Baga Calangute Bardez Goa, the police said.

During the operation, the police seized a laptop and seven mobile phone worth Rs 1.10 lakh, said an official.

The accused have been charged under Sections 3 and 4 of the Goa, Daman, and Diu Public Gambling Act (GDDPG Act).

An official said that the police are trying to unearth the network behind racket, and an investigation is being carried out under Superintendent of Police, North Porvorim, Akshat Kaushal, with Inspector Paresh Naik and sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Vishwesh Karpe collecting more inputs.

The betting incident comes close to a similar crime being unearthed by the Crime Branch in Panaji earlier this month.

A police spokesperson said the Crime Branch raided an apartment in the Porvorim locality on April 4 and arrested three Telangana accused.

The accused were identified as Tigulla Shrinivas (39); Gaddala Kiran Kumar (37); and Annathapuram Shravankumar Chary (36) were accepting bets on the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians.

The official said that the police seized mobile phones, a laptop and gaming accessories worth Rs 1.80 lakh from the accused.

--IANS

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