Chittoor cops crack whip on IPL betting racket: 9 punters held; Rs 12.20 lakh seized
TIRUPATI: With the Indian Premier League (IPL) under way, cricket bookies became active in their nefarious activities in the tail-end Chittoor district.
Keeping a close tab on cricket betting rackets, police conducted an intensive drive against such rackets at the district headquarters, picked up nine punters and seized Rs 12.20 lakh in cash.
A police team raided the Obanapalli housing colony in the city on Sunday night when the gang was engaged in betting over the ongoing IPL matches.
Those arrested were Sekhar (41), Ramesh (46) and Chendilkumar (38), all residents of Chittoor town; Narendra (30), Yugandhar Babu (40), Kumarbabu (39), Lokesh (31), Manohar (30) and Munaswamy (42), all hailing from different parts of the district.
Police said accused Sekhar from Vijayalakshmi colony of Santhapeta and Yugandhar from Vavil Thota in Puthalapattu mandal along with seven others were placing bets on IPL matches.
“To escape from the police eye, the group used to meet at different places in the city and play bets -- toss to toss, match to match, ball to ball and over to over on the ongoing IPL matches. On Sunday, they were placing bets on the ongoing IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers and Chennai Super Kings, when police raided the place and took them into custody,” police said.
Meanwhile, the DSPs across the district have been asked to constitute special teams under their division to intensify the vigil and curb the cricket betting.
