Four held for betting on first semi-final

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has said it busted a cricket betting racket by arresting four men from an apartment in Chikkakallasandra in Subramanyapura on Tuesday. The suspects were taking bets on the Cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa.

The CCB said that based on a tip-off, it arrested Keshav Murthy, 31, Yathish, 29, Chethan, 25 and Nithin, 25, besides seizing Rs three lakh in cash, 27 mobile phones, four laptops and an LCD television set, all valued at Rs 5.5 lakh, from them.

During the interrogation, the CCB said, it learnt that Murthy had rented a flat for Rs 20,000 per month and would conduct cricket betting there, with the help of his associates.

The suspects were found to have been in constant touch with a Mysuru-based bookie Kunal, who is considered to be a familiar name in the betting circuit. The suspected bookies would fix the betting rates by referring to websites like ‘betfair’ and ‘bet365’, said the police. A case has been registered at the Subramanyapura police station.