IPL 2017 : 7 Arrested for Betting in Noida
Apr 29, 2017 at 10:48 AM
Seven bookies were arrested by the UP Special Task Force (UP-STF) from the 11th floor of an upscale residential society in Noida on Friday evening. A total of nearly Rs.27 lakh was also recovered from the accused persons.
The officials said that the raids were jointly conducted by STF teams from Lucknow and Noida and also by the Phase-2 civil police personnel. Following the raids, the officials arrested mastermind Rohit Gupta who has been allegedly involved in similar betting activities for the past five years. He is believed to a resident of Kailash Puri in Bulandshahr district of western UP.
The police seized Rs 27 lakh in cash, four laptops, two landline telephones, two cordless phones, one Airtel dongle, a calculator and 16 mobile phones from their possession. The bookies were arrested from Flat No. 1101, Tower Aster 6, of Supertech Emerald in Sector 93A.
“He was operating earlier in Bulandshahr and arrived in Noida nearly one-and-a-half years ago. His prime business is to invite bets on IPL matches and the group resumed their operations as the current IPL season got underway. We are also trying to trace the bookies who are involved in the large syndicate operated by Gupta in Delhi-NCR and beyond. A total of seven persons were arrested, while a hunt is on for the others who had links with the group,” said RK Mishra, deputy superintendent of police, STF, Noida.
Apart from Gupta, teams also arrested Ankur Govil and Neeraj Gupta, both hailing from Bulandshahr, Samuel Jacob, Akash Kumar and Rahul Channa, all three hailing from Ghaziabad. The officials also arrested Ashok Garg who hails from Shahdara in Delhi.
The accused functioned from a duplex house. They used the lower floor for residential purposes while the upper one was used for betting. The investigating officers said the accused used an international site — http://www.betfair.com — for the betting. The used to record the conversation/communication of other bookies and maintain a record in laptops. They used to bet on each match, and sometimes on each over and ball and run. The bookies used to collect money the following day from the people who lost. The investigating officers said the accused has networks in Delhi, NCR and other parts of the country. The bookies used to contact potential bookies online and fix a rate for certain matches. They also connected the potential bookies through mobile phones and emails.