India: 4 arrested in connection with illegal betting

Police in Pune claim to have dismantled an illegal betting operation after receiving a complaint about a scam.

India.- Four young men have been arrested by the police in the city of Pune on allegations of operating illegal gambling. The arrests were made after police received a complaint for fraud and blackmail from a businessman who claimed to have been tricked to invest Rs 19 lakh into a real estate business. The man says those arrested had gambled and lost his money.

He says that when he sought to recover the funds, the men refused and threatened to kill him. Officers said the main suspect, allegedly a bookmaker, is on the run.

The police added: “In 2021, all the accused met the complainant and told him that they had started a construction business and would launch a project in Undri Pisoli. 

“The complainant alleged that the accused took Rs 19 lakh from him between October 2021 and February 2022. The police arrested the four accused under sections 420, 406, 341, 323, 504, 506, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).”

All of the people arrested in the raid started as gamblers who later realised that the bookmakers make much more money than they did. According to the police report, the group could have scammed many people. However, most people do not make complaints since they will have used undeclared funds to bet.

Arrests for cricket betting are fairly common in India. So far this year, Police in Delhi have arrested 3,502 people in 1,489 raids related to illegal gambling. A week ago, police in Karnataka arrested 18 people in Bengaluru for alleged betting on cricket. Officers seized Rs 4,68,200 in cash and 17 mobile phones. Further investigation is underway.