Vijayawada police bust cricket betting racket, arrest 3

Vijayawada: The Vijayawada police busted an illegal cricket betting racket and arrested three persons who were accepting bets for the ODI match between England and Australia on 16 September.

The arrested have been identified as A. Ranjith Kumar (33), D Srinath (39), and P. Naga Venkata Siva Prasad (38).

The deputy commissioner of police, Harshavardhan, said they raided a playschool under Macharam police station limits in the city on 16 September and arrested the trio. The prime accused, Naveen, had rented the school and also recruited the three men to run the operations. The police have formed a special team to arrest Naveen and a few others involved in the illegal operations.

According to the police, the trio used the Avatar App to organise the bets and invite punters. All the transactions were done online. As the bets were placed over the phone, the cash transaction took place a day or two after the match which had made it difficult for the police to ascertain the exact amount of transactions.

However, preliminary investigation revealed that the trio had accepted bets worth Rs. 12.5 lakh during the England-Australia match. They are trying to ascertain the exact amount.

The DCP urged people to cooperate with the police and provide information on betting activities that are being organised during the IPL season.