The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Pune Police Crime Branch has successfully exposed an IPL betting racket operated from a closed flat in Dharmashree Signature Society, located in Saibaba Nagar, Kondhwa.
On Saturday evening, the police conducted a raid on the flat and apprehended three bookies. The investigation suggests that a prominent pub owner from Koregaon Park, along with bookies from Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, and Dubai, are involved in the illicit gambling operation.
3 held
The arrested individuals have been identified as Wasim Hanif Shaikh (39), a resident of Kondhwa Khurd, Ikrama Maqsud Mulla (26), a resident of Ghorpade Peth, and Musabin Mehmood Bashaib (35), a resident of Somwar Peth. The Kondhwa police station has registered an FIR against Jitesh Mehta, the pub owner from Pune, along with a bookie from Indore, named Akshay Tiwari, under sections 420, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Anti-Gambling Act section 4(a), 5, and section 25(c) of the Indian Telegraph Act. Police Naik Shankar Shivaji Sampte (Buckle no 7812, AEC-1, Pune) has filed the complaint.
The police received information through Policemen Sudhir Ingle and Shankar Sampte that several bookies were facilitating substantial bets on IPL matches within a society in Kondhwa. After verifying the information raided the closed flat in Dharmashree Signature Society on Saturday evening.
Prominent pub owner held
Investigations have revealed that Jitesh Mehta and Akshay Tiwari conspired to accept bets on the Delhi Capitals versus CSK match through mobile phones and laptops, deceiving unsuspecting individuals. During the raid, the police confiscated five mobile phones and a laptop as evidence.
The seized mobile phones and laptop are currently under examination. Further investigation has uncovered the involvement of Jitesh Mehta, the well-known pub owner in Pune, and Akshay Tiwari, a major bookie in Madhya Pradesh, in the betting racket. It is suspected that the bookies have connections in Dubai as well. The police are conducting a thorough probe into the matter to uncover all aspects of the illegal operation.
