The city crime branch has busted a major cricket betting racket and arrested three persons while allegedly accepting bets on the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Thursday night. From the accused, police have seized 41 mobile phones, two SIM card line boxes, two laptops along with cash worth Rs 1.88 lakh.
Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at a flat in Mulund and police arrested three persons while they were allegedly accepting bets on an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkatta Knight Riders. The accused are identified as Dipesh Jain (37), Piyush Aashar (45), and Digesh Mehta (45). According to the police, Jain was the main bookie while Mehta was accepting bets from punters over the phone. Aashar had been tasked to enter the amount and names of punters as said by Mehta, said a crime branch officer.
Following the raid, an offence of cheating and forgery under various sections of IPC along with Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act and under the IT Act was registered at Mulund police station. The case was later transferred to the crime branch for further investigation, said an officer. The accused were produced before the court on Friday which sent them to police custody till November 3.
