Four arrested for betting on World cup match

Nagpur, Apr 1 (UNI) Police has busted a large-scale betting racket on the ongoing World Cup, involving dealings worth crores of rupees with bookies in Dubai, London and Mumbai, at Katol, about 58 kms from here.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a house in Katol on Friday last, and arrested four bookies--Abdul Rashid Abdul Razzak Sheikh (40), a resident of Katol, Kaushik Madhusudan Joshi (21), Manish Kishore Jobangutla (27) and Kalilm Sheikh Hanif Sheikh (26), all residents of Nagpur, while they were accepting bets on the England-Ireland match, Nagpur District (Rural) Superintendent of Police (SP) Yashaswi Yadav told reporters here.

The betting activities were being conducted from the residence of Abdul Rashid Abdul Razzak Sheikh.

The bookies had over 700 clients, he said.

Police seized Rs 1.06 lakh in cash and equipment worth Rs 5.20 lakhs, including two laptops, two television sets, 17 mobile phones, an Internet connector, a dish antenna, a dedicated data line, a printer, several recorded compact discs and floppies from the house, Mr Yadav said.

The bookies were found carrying out their dealings with the help of a highly specialised software loaded on the laptops.

This is the first time that the Nagpur District Rural Police has come across a cricket betting racket, being operated on such a large-sale, he added.

UNI