Kolkata, In a first, three spectators were arrested from the Eden Gardens on Saturday for running a cricket betting racket by watching live the ongoing day-night Test match between India and Bangladesh. Two others were later taken into custody based on the information provided by them, police said.
Acting on a source’s information regarding cricket betting, city police detective department’s anti-rowdy section kept prolonged watch on F1 and G1 blocks and arrested the three persons for engaging in cricket betting by seeing the live match and using the telecast lag.
“After prolonged watch they were able to identify and nab Sambhu Dayal, 40, Mukesh Gare, 46, and Chetan Sharma, 31, from G1 block for allegedly engaging in cricket betting using the betting app in their mobile phones.
“While Dayal is from Rajasthan’s Chitore district, Gare and Sharma hail from Indore nd Guna districts respectively in Madhya Pradesh,” city police’s Joint Commissioner, Crime, Murlidhar Sharma said.
Ten mobile phones and four gadgets were seized from them.
In pursuant to their statement, two other Rajasthan residents Abhishek Suwalka, 35, and Ayub Ali, 44, were nabbed from a hotel in south Kolkata’s Sudder Street, where they had boarded.
“They were operating a cricket betting racket using their mobile phones. Six mobile phones and one laptop were seized from their possession,” said Sharma.
A total cash of Rs. 1.4 lakh was seized from the five arrested persons.
A specific case under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the West Bengal Gambling Act has been recorded at Maidan police station.
