The Rajgangpur Police in Odisha’s Sundargarh district have successfully dismantled an Indian Premier League (IPL) betting operation, leading to the arrest of five individuals involved in illegal betting. Acting on credible intelligence, the Sundargarh Superintendent of Police directed a special team to take swift action against the illicit IPL betting activities. During a raid in Rajgangpur, the police apprehended five people who were actively managing the betting network and collecting money from participants.
The police officials seized Rs 6,00,000 in cash and froze Rs 17,61,367 held in a bank account, along with confiscating five mobile phones during the operation. A case has been registered at the Rajgangpur Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act, and Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act in connection with the incident. Recently, similar betting rackets were uncovered by the Odisha Police in Puri and Ber̥hampur areas of the state.
In a separate incident in April, the Puri Police dismantled an IPL betting network, arresting four individuals and seizing over Rs 25 lakh in cash, while also freezing Rs 31.81 lakh in bank deposits linked to the suspects. Investigations revealed that the group operated through an online betting platform, enticing numerous individuals to place bets on IPL matches. Subsequent searches led to the recovery of Rs 3.04 lakh and six mobile phones, with a raid at one suspect’s residence uncovering Rs 22.31 lakh believed to be betting proceeds.
The frozen transactions amounting to Rs 31.81 lakh are currently under investigation, with authorities noting that the racket had been active in Puri for nearly two years. Additionally, the Berhampur police arrested a 21-year-old bookie involved in an IPL betting racket and discovered the bookie’s connection to the online gaming website ag.noor333.com.
