Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has ordered a probe by a special task force headed by IG Balram Kumar Upadhyay into the complaints of frauds involving written lotteries in the state.
The modus operandi of the lottery is to ask the people to write on a piece of paper the last three numbers of a lottery ticket. If they matched with the last three numbers of the lottery ticket which wins the prize in the state lottery, they would win a prize.
Replying to a notice for adjournment motion on the illegal lotteries flourishing in the state, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac told the Assembly that to take on the lottery mafia, the state would telecast live the results of the Kerala state lotteries every day. The government would also restructure the prizes to make them more attractive, he said.
The government viewed the matter very seriously. Action would be taken on the basis of the report of the special task force, said Mr Isaac.
“It is suspected that an organised group is behind the lottery which operates more in the northern parts of the state,” he said. The people become addicted to this kind of betting quickly, he said.Mr V.D. Satheeshan, who moved the motion, said that it was operated online and through SMS messages. The ‘lottery mafia’ from other states led by Santiago Martin was trying to gain strength in Kerala in a different form as they were pushed out of the state a few years ago, he said. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that a lottery agent with the CPM links was behind the mafia.
