Staff Reporter
Panaji
The Crime Branch of Goa Police on Wednesday said it has busted a major IPL cricket betting racket through two separate raids, arresting 34 accused persons, including the main accused Lucky Kalra, a native of Rajasthan. Laptops, mobile phones, and other equipment worth Rs 40 lakh were also seized.
Over the past seven days, police have registered six cases related to cricket betting, leading to the arrest of 44 accused and seizure of articles valued at approximately Rs 45 lakh. Of these, four cases were registered by the Crime Branch, while Porvorim and Calangute police registered one case each. Police said that all those arrested are from outside Goa.
“It is one of the biggest cricket betting rackets to have been busted by the Crime Branch,” said Crime Branch SP Rahul Gupta. He said the accused were operating for the past four months and are believed to be part of a larger betting network spanning India and possibly other countries. “The accused caught are ground-level operatives,” Gupta said.
He said that the accused had rented the buildings they operated from and participated in illegal betting on major sporting events, including the ICC Champions Trophy and Indian Premier League and that police are investigating whether tenant verification was done for the premises used.
The accused were allegedly operating bank accounts in the names of other individuals, prompting police to book them not only under gambling charges but also for forgery and impersonation. The racket was being run from a business hub in Pirni, Nagoa (Salcete), and in Bambolim using betting apps like Reddy, Lotus, and Lionking 247. The accused lured people to deposit money into bank accounts under their control.
“These accused individuals hail from different parts of the country and were recently brought together for this illegal conspiracy,” Gupta said.
