India are bookies' favourite

Betting syndicate busted

As the Cricket World Cup nears its final stages, bookies in the city are doing all they can to mint quick money while it lasts. India is their favourite to win the cup a second time in a row, senior Delhi Police officers said.

But the bets have been placed slightly in favour of Australia in its clash with title holders India for the semi-final set to be played on Thursday. The betting rate for this match has been fixed at 50:52 in favour of Australia. In the quarterfinal match against Bangladesh, the rates stood at 16:18, in India’s favour.

These revelations surfaced during the ongoing investigations after the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch busted a syndicate indulging in large scale betting during the 2015 Cricket World Cup. One person has been arrested with 110 mobile phones which were being used to provide ball-by-ball betting rates to bookies.

Shanti Swaroop Bhatia, 57, was arrested from his home in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar on last Thursday while he was allegedly providing live betting rates through mobile phones for the semi-final between India and Bangladesh.

Bhatia had allegedly set up a special operating system in his almirah through which he could converse with over 100 people at once. “The mobile phones were set up in such a way that his voice was audible to all phones installed in the wooden fixings. He was found announcing the betting rates on the mobile phones after receiving them from a Main Line Provider source. He received the rates through his mobile phone connected to his head gear,” said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), in a release.

Bhatia allegedly told police he was getting updated rates on each ball of the match from the main line provider and the same was promptly communicated to all punters/bookies connected to him through mobile phones.

A senior police officer associated with the probe told Deccan Herald that Bhatia was receiving the rates from Mumbai which in turn came from Dubai.

However, his role was limited to being a mediator between the bookies and punters. “Bhatia was taking bets from 110 common people. He was earning about Rs 6 lakh during each match,” said the officer.

Police said they are geared up to bust similar betting syndicates over the remaining matches. “We are on the trail of Bhatia’s clients involved in such betting,” the officer said.
Police are also keeping surveillance on farmhouses at the bordering areas of Delhi. It is suspected that some bookies have set up their dens outside Delhi to stay away from Delhi Police’s gaze.