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Two held for running cricket betting racket in Telangana's Warangal

Over Rs 2 crore cash, 15 debit cards, 43 cheque books and eight mobile phones were seized in the raid
Last Updated 29 November 2021, 12:21 IST

An online cricket betting racket was busted in Telangana's Warangal town on Monday and two organisers were arrested. Over Rs 2 crore was also seized, the police said.

According to the police, the organisers were running the racket mainly from Mumbai and were receiving bets through a website for the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup and the India-New Zealand Twenty20 series.

The suspects were identified as Madishetty Prasad, of Hanamkonda district, and Abhay Vilas Rao, of Yavatmahal district in Maharashtra, and booked in three cases.

Warangal Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters that cash of Rs 2,05,14,000, 15 debit cards and 43 cheque books of different banks were seized. Eight mobile phones, which were being used for betting, were also seized.

Joshi said that the WhatsApp group in each mobile phone had 150-200 members.

Explaining the modus operandi, he said the organisers sent customers links with usernames and passwords to participate in the online betting. "The betting was for every ball and every player, and the organisers were offering big returns if the winning chances of a team were low," Joshi said.

The accused were also using their platform for other forms of betting and games like Teen Patti. The police official pointed out that all such games are prohibited in Telangana.

He said that since indulging in betting is also an offence, customers who lost money had not lodged a police complaint.

The commissioner said a team will be sent to Mumbai, from where the kingpin and other organisers are functioning. They used to keep 80 per cent of the profit with themselves and transfer 20 per cent to regional organisers.

Investigations revealed that Prasad is a repeat offender and was arrested in two betting cases in Hyderabad in 2019. Since he was under the police watch in Hyderabad, he shifted to Warangal a few months ago and continued his illegal activities.

Joshi said the suspects had also acquired properties from the money earned through the betting racket. Police are conducting further investigation into their properties and also analysing their bank accounts.

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(Published 29 November 2021, 12:21 IST)

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