A multi-crore betting syndicate was busted by the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police. Two bookies have been arrested by cops for accepting bets on the ongoing World Cup matches. In the last 11 days, the accused duo allegedly made transactions of around Rs 14 crore as highlighted by their diary entries, said a police officer. The accused duo has been identified as Vishwas Takalkar (51) and Ajay Kantraj (24).
The duo was caught for betting on West Indies vs New Zealand. According to the ANC, based on a tip-off, a police team raided the 12th floor of Hotel Balwas at Khetwadi area of Grant Road on Saturday.
"The officers found that two persons were accepting bets on their mobile phones when the cricket match between West Indies vs New Zealand was on. The accused duo was immediately arrested. During their interrogation, we found that one person was doing a live commentary of the match on the phone based on which the duo was placing bets on the match. As per their communication, the match was tough and rate for West Indies was 78 paise for one rupee," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, ANC, Shivdeep Lande.
The person who was doing the live commentary of the match is another wanted accused in the case, the police said. "The diary seized during the raid hints that the accused duo accepted bets from different people for different matches from June 11 and the amount collected during that period is around Rs 14 crore."
"While Takalkar is a resident of Musafir Khana area in central Mumbai, Kantraj hails from Bengaluru. We have recovered eight mobile phones, one LCD screen and cash of Rs 9,470 from the hotel room. A case has been registered at D.B Marg police station under relevant sections of the Gambling Act and the Indian Telegraph Act. The hunt for the kingpin of the racket is on and both the accused have been handed over to local police for further probe," Lande added.
BOOKIES BOOKED
During the raid, the cops had seized eight mobile phones worth Rs 1,93,200, one LCD worth Rs 25,000 and Rs 9,470 in cash. The total amount of betting collected from the duo was approximately
Rs 14 crores
