Four arrested for betting on Australia-England World Cup match

Pune, Apr 9 (UNI) Crime Branch sleuths today arrested four bookies, including a woman from Bhavani Peth area here, for allegedly placing bets on the Australia-England match in the ongoing World Cup.

Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths, disguised as courier delivery boys, entered Padmaji Paradise apartment last night and arrested the accused - Mahesh Otmal Jain (41) Ganesh Khivraj Bhutda (31), Ms Nanda Roopchand Jaswani (41) and Surinder Singh Rajpal (31) while they were placing bets, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Crime Branch, Anil Kumbhare said.

Goods worth Rs 2.52 lakh, including eight mobiles, two laptops and Rs 90,000 cash have been recovered from them.

''The bookies were in the process of betting when the raid took place. A dedicated phone line with links to Delhi was in use. The rate of 45 paise was placed for Australia's win and Re one for England's success,'' Mr Kumbhare said.

During preliminary investigations, the accused admitted that the betting racket was active for the past two months. However, no case of match-fixing has emerged, he added.

UNI