Ganjam police arrest three over US$104,000 betting fraud
Police said the suspects allegedly used online betting applications to persuade people to deposit money by promising high returns.
India.- Odisha cyber police have arrested three people in Ganjam district over an alleged online betting fraud in which victims are suspected to have lost about Rs1 crore (US$104,399). The arrests followed a raid on a rented property in Palurgarh, where police said the suspects were operating and promoting online betting applications.
The accused were identified as Satrughan Kumar Pandey, 26, from Jharkhand; Dharamdas Manikpuri, 30, from Chhattisgarh; and Jagadish Sethi alias Suraj, 30, also from Chhattisgarh. Investigators alleged that the group attracted victims by promising high returns on deposits made through betting applications.
Officers seized two laptops, a Chromebook, 14 smartphones, 86 SIM cards, 78 ATM and other cards, 16 bank passbooks, a Bajaj Pulsar 220 motorcycle and several documents. Examination of the devices allegedly revealed access to online gaming and betting platforms, including Reddy Play 11, Hush 777, 100 Panel and Fairplay. Police also recovered user IDs, passwords and records of deposits and withdrawals.
The three accused were produced before a court in Chhatrapur and sent to judicial custody after their bail applications were rejected. Police are now conducting forensic examinations of the seized devices to establish the financial trail, determine the scale of the alleged fraud and identify other people who may have been involved.
