India-Lanka ODI betting racket busted, 3 bookies held in India

The city crime branch in Mumbai busted a cricket betting racket and arrested three bookies accepting bets on the one-day international (ODI) match played between India and Sri Lanka, from an office in D N Nagar, Andheri, on Friday night.

The police said these bookies have links in Ahmedabad, Delhi and Dubai.

The ODI series between India and Sri Lanka started on August 20. In recent test matches played from July 26 to August 12, India won three of four matches while one match was drawn.

Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch unit 9 raided a commercial building and arrested three persons - Deepak Ravi Kapoor, Tarun Sunny Thakur and his cousin Sunny Ashok Thakur.

The police said Kapoor, who runs a real estate consultancy as a front, is the kingpin of the gang and was a small-time punter before becoming a full-time bookie recently. Police have seized 13 cellphones, two laptops, computers, a diary with details of clients and Rs 74,000. The accused have booked under the Gambling Act and for forgery as they had 13 mobile and SIM cards registered in somebody else name.

Advocate Mane Shinde, who appeared for the accused, said the SIM cards belonged to Kapoor's employees. Sources said the accused were taking bets from punters and dealing with counterparts in Ahmedabad and Delhi. "We've sought call detail reports to know as to who they were in touch with," said a source.(Times of India)