Published: Nov 28, 2012, 11:34 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 28, 2012, 11:34 AM (IST)
Kolkata Police have reportedly busted a big betting racket that was on during the Mumbai Test between India and England © PTI
Kolkata: Nov 29,2012
A big-time betting racket that may have made crores on the recent India-England Test match in Mumbai at Wankhede where India were humiliated by a ten-wicket loss, seems to have been busted by the Kolkata police.
“The result of the match was a surprise because Indian players practically surrendered before the English spin attack, which is quite bizarre,” said one of the senior investigators, as reported by Times of India.
A senior investigator confirmed gambling was on during the England-India Test. DC south suburban division Sujay Chanda confirmed the arrest of eight persons. “We are probing whether they are linked with cricket betting,” he said.
A few sources in Garfa police station have informed that they had been receiving tip-offs about a major gambling racking in their area for the last few months. After weeks of investigation, they zeroed in on the den on Purbachal Hospital Road, near Prince Anwar Shah Road connector. They conducted their first raid during Diwali but the gamblers managed to escape.
The police team, after a particular tip-off, raided a room that was an extension of a famous restaurant chain on Monday evening. “It was around 8pm. There were 15-odd people in the gambling den. A few managed to escape but we got eight of them,” said an investigator.
Rs. 90,000 was seized in cash by the police and they also found a lot of gold ornaments. “One gold chain alone weighed 450 grams (around Rs 1.45 crore at current value),” said an officer.
The Police have identified the owner of the restaurant, Samir Adhikari, 35, as the kingpin of the racket alongwith Bishu, his elder brother. The eight people who were arrested have been identified as local real estate promoters, influential traders and suppliers of building materials. According to the Police, Adhikari was a promoter too.
The suspects revealed that they were only involved in card gambling and not cricket betting, while being interrogated by the Police. But police have reasons to believe that they were involved in cricket betting too. “All it takes to run a cricket betting syndicate are a few cellphones. We have seized several cellphones from the den and will check the call details thoroughly,” said an investigator.
