Uttarakhand Police have busted an international online IPL betting syndicate, arresting five individuals involved in facilitating illegal wagering on Indian Premier League matches.
The Uttarakhand STF and Dehradun Police, in a joint operation on Friday, claimed to have busted an international online betting syndicate and arrested five accused allegedly involved in facilitating betting on IPL matches, police said.
Dehradun Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar said that the prime accused-identified as Sumit Yadav, a resident of Delhi-is the individual responsible for providing the arrested suspects with user IDs and passwords for a betting app used for online wagering. Kumar added that Yadav would also be apprehended soon.
Kumar said that acting on a tip-off regarding online betting being conducted from a rented flat in the Rishi Vihar colony of Vasant Vihar, a raid was conducted on Thursday night, leading to the arrest of the five accused.
According to the police, the arrested individuals have been identified as Sunil Sharma, Sandeep Gupta, Akrand Sharma and Abhishek Sharma-all hailing from the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh-and Sandeep Kumar from Aurangabad, Bihar.
According to Kumar, during interrogation, the accused revealed to the police that they facilitated online betting on IPL matches using the betting app. They further disclosed that the user IDs and passwords for this app were allegedly supplied to them by Yadav, who received them from Dubai.
Kumar added that once they obtained access to the app, the accused would create user IDs and passwords for individuals interested in betting. After these clients deposited money into the designated accounts, they were allowed to participate in online betting.
The accused also allegedly admitted to using websites and WhatsApp to lure customers and facilitate their betting activities.
The official said that during the raid, the police uncovered details regarding several bank accounts belonging to the accused, through which financial transactions were being conducted, and these accounts are currently under investigation.