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Cops brace to bowl out betting scare ahead of cricket World Cup match in Lucknow
The list of suspicious people includes some big businessmen and sports management companies of Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Noida and Ghaziabad, says UP Police special DG (law and order)
LUCKNOW UP Police and security agencies are keeping a close vigil on suspicious people in view of several betting cases having been unearthed from different districts of the state in the past ahead of the cricket match between Australia and South Africa at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday.
The list of suspicious people includes some big businessmen and sports management companies of Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Noida and Ghaziabad, said Prashant Kumar, UP Police special DG (law and order).
He said: “Law enforcement agencies in the state have been asked to keep a close eye on betting and match-fixing hot spots in view of Thursday’s World Cup match.”
Several suspicious people, whose names surfaced in such activities in the past, and their close associates are under police scanner with their mobile numbers being put under electronic surveillance, added Kumar.
The police have also sought help from central and other states’ agencies to keep a tab on such activities. State agencies are in touch with Mumbai and Delhi police sleuths who have been working on match-fixing and betting cases for years, said the special DG.
“Crime branch teams of Mumbai and Delhi police have also been kept in the loop for all possible leads about bookies and betting rackets,” said another police official, adding: “The list of suspicious people includes some big businessmen and sports management companies of Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Noida and Ghaziabad.”
On September 29, 2021, the UP Police unearthed a cricket betting racket during Indian Premier League (IPL) matches from a rented house in Vibhuti Khand and seized around ₹42.66 lakh from three persons arrested there.
Similarly, on April 10, 2019, the STF busted an interstate cricket betting racket after the arrest of its kingpin Jeetendra and four others from Kanpur and three persons from Varanasi. The kingpin allegedly had international links in Dubai and his network was spread across Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer and Raipur.
Despite strict vigil, three suspected bookies were arrested in 2017 from a Kanpur hotel, which hosted players of Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils, during the IPL.
In May 2013, a major betting racket, allegedly linked to a few international cricketers, was unearthed after the arrest of several people in Varanasi and Kanpur. The arrested racketeers allegedly had links with betting masterminds operating from Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.
‘OVER ₹250 CR LIKELY TO BE AT STAKE’
A businessman, who enjoys betting on different mobile applications, said betting will flourish during big-ticket matches involving India, Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and Pakistan. He said over ₹250 crore is likely to be at stake alone in UP’s two cities - Lucknow and Kanpur - during the clashes.