IPL betting racket: Rs 42.3 lakh frozen in bank accounts of four accused

The investigation of the Khanna police into the high profile IPL cricket betting racket led to an important development as the Khanna police have found Rs 42.3 lakh lying in the bank accounts of the four accused. This whopping amount is considered to be the collected from cricket betting and every transaction would now be subjected to scrutiny to check the flow of funds and account holders involved. The said amount has been frozen by the Khanna police.

An international link of the betting racket has also been exposed as a native of Khanna, who is suspected to be hiding in Dubai, has been found to be the kingpin of this racket.

Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia told The Tribune here on Sunday that on April 12, the Khanna police had busted a major online betting network operating on IPL matches and arrested four accused. The police had initially seized Rs 44,000, 11 mobile phones and a laptop. The accused were identified as Dinesh Chhabra, his brother Karan Chhabra, Mahinder Singh and Naresh Kumar. All are residents of Khanna and had been involved in this illegal business for a long time.

Ahluwalia added that the main accused, Dinesh and Naresh, had previous cases registered against them under the Gambling Act. Other accused also have criminal histories. The investigation revealed that the accused used multiple bank accounts and digital channels to launder money. They defrauded people by luring them into placing bets on IPL matches through international apps.

“As our team checked the bank accounts of the accused, Rs 42 lakh were found stashed in their accounts. The Khanna police immediately froze these bank accounts. Now, the police would also scan the bank accounts of family members or other known persons of the accused, which might have been used to stash more illegal money derived from the cricket betting racket,” revealed the SSP.

The investigation revealed that the accused used multiple bank accounts and digital channels to launder money, the SSP said, adding that now the police would involve central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate for investigation.

Section 112 of BNS added to the FIR

In order to seek maximum punishment for the accused involved in illegal betting, the Khanna police have now added Section 112 of the BNS (whoever, being a member of a group or gang, either singly or jointly, commits any act of theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised selling of tickets, unauthorised betting or gambling, selling of public examination question papers or any other similar criminal act, is said to commit petty organised crime). If found guilty, the accused could face up to seven years of jail.

Usually, the police used to register such cases under fraud charge, but this is the first time that it has added this stringent section in the illegal betting case. Khanna SSP said that police had also booked Rajiv Kumar of Khanna in the illegal betting case as he had been operating the racket while living abroad.