IPL cricket betting racket busted, 10 arrested in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown against illegal cricket betting, the special operations team (SOT), Balanagar zone and Bachupally team of Cyberabad police commissionerate apprehended 10 bookies who organised online cricket betting rackets during the RCB vs Lucknow Super Giants match of IPL 2023. The joint operation was conducted on credible information at Sai Anurag Colony in Bachupally on 10 April.

The police have seized a large number of electronic devices and cash—all worth over Rs. 1 crore. The seized items include three line boards, laptops, TVs, keypad phones, CPUs, keyboards, Dell monitor, Jio set-top box, headsets, Airtel WiFi routers, mouses, HP printer, other set-top boxes, VI prepared SIMS, microphones, webcam, wifi modem, Duro cell battery, laptop charger, voice recorder, TV remote, calculator, Tata Sky set-top box, extension box, and 3 two-wheeler bikes.

The net cash seized during the operation was Rs. 60,39,000, and the amount available in bank accounts was Rs. 5,89,239. The total value of cash seized was Rs. 66,28,239.

The accused have been booked under sections 3 and 4 of the TS Gaming Act by the Bachupally police and a case has been registered. The arrested persons include Y. Venkata Shivarama Krishna, Singmaneni Kiran Kumar, Nandam Srinivas Babu, Kadiyala Mahesh, Chereddy Kasi, Addepalli Prathap Gana Kumar, K. Vijay Kumar, G. Srikanth, A. Vinay, and B. Venkata Ratna Kumar.

One of the accused, Pandu, who is believed to be the main organiser, is still absconding. The police are looking for him.

The police have issued an advisory urging people to avoid indulging in cricket betting.