Hyderabad: Sleuths of the Commissioner’s Task Force, North Zone, busted a cricket betting racket at Kalasiguda, Secunderabad, and apprehended a bookie.
Police said the accused Mahesh Upadhya was accepting bets from punters for the third India-Australia one-day international match held in Ranchi on Friday. Armed with a tip-off, the Task Force police laid a trap and arrested Upadhya red-handed while taking bets.
Mr P. Radhakishan Rao, DCP, Commissioner’s Task Force, said, “He was tracking scores on a cricket app which updates scores promptly, and the betting ratios which he was using to collect money from his punters clandestinely. He had 15 to 20 punters working for him, who were accepting bets for the ongoing cricket matches.”
Upadhya, 33, migrated from Rajasthan and settled in Kalasiguda, Secunderabad, and worked in a shop at the Chenoy Trade Centre at Secunderabad. To make extra money, he worked as a punter under various bookies and after gaining some expertise graduated to becoming a sub-bookie. He devised a plan to gain money illegally while working as a sub-bookie under one Rahul Jadam, who is absconding. With Jadam’s guidance Upadhya conducted betting sessions at his residence and collected betting amounts from punters during cricket matches.
The accused, along with the seized property, was handed over to the Mahankali police station for further investigation.
