Illegal Betting Racket Busted by CID-SIT
Six special teams, each led by a DSP, were deployed to New Delhi, Gujarat, and Punjab.
Hyderabad: The CID-SIT constituted by the state government to combat illegal online betting has arrested 11 persons linked to the ‘Dafabet’ betting network. Police seized several assets from them including high-end cars.
Six special teams, each led by a DSP, were deployed to New Delhi, Gujarat, and Punjab. Despite the accused frequently changing mobile phones, SIM cards, and locations, sustained surveillance and field operations over two weeks led to the arrests, said director-general, CID, Charu Sinha.
“We have obtained transit warrants and the accused are being brought to the CID police station, Hyderabad, for production before the judicial magistrate of first class (special mobile) PCR court, Karimnagar,” Sinha said.
The case was based on a complaint from Challa Sai Krishna Reddy, a software engineer from Karimnagar, who said he was induced by Dafabet’s promotional campaigns to participate in online betting. Trusting the platform’s representations, he deposited and wagered money between January 2024 and January 2025, losing ₹9,95,000. Police traced his funds through 46 mule bank accounts spread across eight layers, used to route illegal betting proceeds.
Forensic analysis of bank transactions, mobile numbers, email IDs, social media profiles, and WhatsApp groups revealed a coordinated, multistate network. The accused promoted betting on cricket, casino games, and the Aviator platform through the Dafabet app. Victims were lured with promises of easy money, bonuses, and high returns. Funds were collected via UPI IDs, QR codes, internet banking, and multiple accounts controlled by the network. Initial payouts were made strategically to build trust and encourage higher wagers.
The accused include Manish Singh, prime organiserm and Abhishek Singh from Gujarat; Ajith Singh, Vijay Patidar, Yugal Patidar, and Prateek Praveen Bhai, all from Gandhinagar; Ignesious Dass, Abhishek Wadhva and Mohd Halim from Delhi; Love Kumar and Simarpreeth Singh from Punjab. They allegedly handled funds, mule accounts, and technical support.
CID-SIT officials seized luxury cars, eight laptops and iPads, two mobile phones, 26 passports, and ₹3,21,900 in cash. Sinha said the accused were involved in betting offences across multiple states. Data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal showed 225 complaints and 73 criminal cases against them in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
Police said 414 cases were registered against illegal betting applications across the state. Proposals to block 108 apps were submitted to the Union ministry of electronics and information technology, resulting in their blocking. In addition, 37 apps have been geo-fenced in coordination with Internet Service Providers, restricting access within Telangana.