Gang betting on IPL, UP elections busted in Noida, 6 held

Noida, April 2: With the arrest of six men, the Noida Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang allegedly involved in betting on the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches and the recently-concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

The gang was operating from an office in Sector 10 here and was in touch with their contacts in Dubai for betting on the IPL games, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ranvijay Singh said. While the gang accepted bets on IPL games run-wise and player-wise, it also allowed stakes on who would become the chief minister of UP the 2022 assembly polls, the officer said.

Sports betting and all forms of gambling are illegal in the country. "The racket was busted by the Phase 1 police team and ACP Noida (2) Rajneesh Verma. Six persons, all natives of adjoining Bulandshahr district, have been arrested. Two of the accused, Imran and Akhilesh Paliwal, were dubbed as 'betting kings' in their circle," Singh told reporters.

The others arrested are Javed, Mohsin, Parvez, and Tahir, he said, adding one more key person involved in operating the racket has been identified but is at large. "Efforts are underway to arrest him soon," he added.

On the modus operandi of the gang, the officer said the gang contacted their sources in Dubai who would sent them some online link on mobile phones through which the bets were placed during the IPL matches.

During the UP assembly elections, the gang organised betting on the fate of political parties and on who would become the chief minister of the state after the polls, he said. The police said they have seized over Rs 1.60 lakh in cash from the gang while around Rs 6 lakh in three bank accounts belonging to it have been frozen.

The police also seized one laptop used in betting, 12 mobile phones, a register with entries of bets, 20 accounting pamphlets from the gang's possession, and impounded two vehicles belonging to the members.

According to police, the betting turnover of the gang during IPL season was around Rs 10 lakh a day and the individual bets were in the range of a minimum of Rs 5,000 and maximum Rs 50,000. On an average, 50 to 60 bets were accepted daily by them and those placing the bets were known as "punters", the police said.

The gang members would often change their locations from Noida to Delhi or Ghaziabad or Bulandshahr to operate, the police said. An FIR has been lodged in the case at the Phase 1 Police Station and further legal proceedings were underway, the police added.