The Purulia district police in West Bengal have apprehended two individuals involved in a counterfeit lottery scheme. The arrested individuals, Shakti Yadav and Ganesh Sau, hail from Amdanga and Ranipur villages in the Neturia police station area of Purulia district.
Shakti operated as a lottery vendor, while Ganesh served as the primary supplier within the illicit lottery network. Both suspects had been evading authorities for nearly a year before their recent arrest. A search at one of the accused’s residences led to the confiscation of Rs 10.42 lakh in cash.
Following their arrest, the duo was presented before the Raghunathpur sub-divisional court, which ordered them into police custody for five days. Earlier, two other individuals were apprehended on April 23, 2025, for their involvement in a similar fake lottery operation, where a substantial number of lottery tickets and Rs 22,000 in cash were seized.
Acting on specific information, investigators detained Ganesh, whose interrogation unveiled additional members of the network, subsequently leading to the capture of Shakti. Authorities disclosed that illegal lottery activities have persisted in the district for an extended period, with past raids resulting in numerous arrests by the district police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Further investigations have exposed connections with individuals from neighboring Jharkhand, hinting at a potential interstate nexus in the ongoing case. The accused reportedly produced counterfeit lottery tickets resembling authentic ones, offering higher commissions to sellers and expanding their reach into rural and semi-urban regions to avoid detection.
Preliminary findings suggest that the fake tickets were distributed through a network before reaching local vendors. Shakti Yadav was also implicated as a distributor in the Neturia area, where unsuspecting buyers fell victim to the scam.
