Panchkula police have busted a high-tech online betting racket operating from a bungalow in Sector 21, where illegal bets were being placed on Women’s Premier League (WPL) cricket matches.
Police arrested seven accused who were conducting a large-scale betting operation using mobile phones and laptops. Late on the night of January 12, the police received a tip-off regarding an active betting operation on a match between UP and Bengaluru at a rented bungalow in Sector 21.
Acting swiftly on the information, the police conducted a raid and caught the accused red-handed while they were facilitating online betting using advanced technical equipment. The arrested individuals have been identified as Pawan Mahajan, Amit Bhatia, Sameer Wadhwa, Ankit Aggarwal, Anil Kumar, Nipun Arora, and Anshu Sharma.
ACP (crime) Arvind Kamboj said that police recovered ₹7 lakh in cash, along with four laptops, 46 mobile phones, two computer screens, three tablets, and a sound recorder, indicating the scale of the illegal operation.
A case has been registered against the accused under Section 4(1) of the Gambling Act. Preliminary investigation revealed that the rented bungalow was being used exclusively to operate the betting network.
Among the accused, Sameer, Pawan, and Amit were produced in court on January 13 and placed on one-day police remand. Following the completion of the interrogation, all the accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Police are continuing further investigation to identify other links associated with the racket.
Police commissioner (ADGP) Sibash Kabiraj said that the gang used modern technology to mislead youths and the general public, adding that detailed interrogation was conducted during the remand to trace the syndicate’s wider network and ascertain where its connections may be spread.
