Mumbai: A Sub Inspector (SI) attached to the Byculla police station has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the racket during a raid on a cricket betting syndicate on Tuesday. The cop, Gyaneshwar Kharmate, has been suspended and a probe initiated. A bookie, Mikin Shaha, 33 and his accomplice Manish Singh, 31 and Prakash Bankar, were also arrested. Matunga police on Tuesday received a tip-off that a cricket betting was on in Rummy Guest House, Dadar East. A team of Matunga police station raided the room number 706 on the seventh floor were betting was going on.
During the raid, police found bettings were accepted on the cricket world cup match between Australia and England, currently underway in England. To the cops’ surprise, along with the bookies and punters, a sub-inspector was also present. According to the Matunga Police, “Bets were accepted from website www.lotusbook247.com over the phone and seized Rs1,93,000 in cash, along with 6 phones. " Police arrested the accused and slapped sections of Maharashtra Gambling Act, along with the Indian Telegraph Act. On Wednesday, the accused were produced in Kurla court, which released them on bail.
According to the Matunga police, Kharmate is the friend of bookie Mikin Shaha and went to the guest house to meet his friend, his role in the betting syndicate is currently being probed. “SI Kharmate was also booked in the same case and he was arrested, his involvement is being investigated further. He is suspended and an inquiry has been initiated,” said DCP Manjunath Singhe, Mumbai police PRO.