Vizag Cyber Police Bust ₹400-Crore Interstate Online Betting Racket
Investigations have revealed that the mastermind, identified as Karan Pakhrani alias Gabbar, controlled the entire betting network, coordinating interstate operations, and managing digital platforms.
Visakhapatnam:Visakhapatnam Cybercrime Police have busted a massive ₹400-crore interstate online betting racket, exposing a network spanning multiple states and involving 224 mule bank accounts.
Unveiling of the case began with a complaint from Thandi Ravi Sankar of Vizag, who revealed that he had been lured into opening bank accounts under the pretext of online gaming. What started as a small arrangement quickly escalated into a large-scale fraud, with nearly 50–60 other accounts being opened and misused for betting transactions. Investigations revealed that one of the key players, Konathala Jagadeesh, has already been linked to the notorious Maharaja Betting Case in Bhilai.
Acting on leads, police arrested Jagadeesh in April 2025 and expanded their probe to Bengaluru, where they raided flats in Ajmal Residence at Bilekahalli. Investigators arrested 13 persons and seized 57 mobile phones, 130 bank passbooks, 33 ATM cards, laptops, and currency counting machines. The gang members had been operating betting websites, including “reddyanna462” and “betbhaibook52.” They used mule accounts obtained through courier services to funnel money across states.
Investigations have revealed that the mastermind, identified as Karan Pakhrani alias Gabbar, controlled the entire betting network, coordinating interstate operations, and managing digital platforms. Using specialised forensic tools, sleuths have traced Pakhrani’s digital footprint across multiple phone numbers, apart from an email ID.
Police raids in Kolkata in April 2026 led to the arrest of Pakhrani along with several of his associates. They had been actively engaged in running illegal betting platforms, such as Ultrawin, Fairplay, Cricway, and 4Ra book. Pakhrani directly controlled two of these platforms.
Authorities said the racket operated across Bengaluru, Kolkata, Raipur, Pune, and Goa, with transactions exceeding ₹400 crore in just six months. Around 224 mule accounts have been identified nationwide, highlighting the scale of financial fraud and money laundering involved.
Those arrested are from multiple states, including from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to Bihar and West Bengal, many of whom acted as bookies, sub-bookies, and punters in the network.
Visakhapatnam Cybercrime Police described the case as one of the largest betting rackets uncovered in recent years, posing a serious threat to financial security of the public.
