Three arrested in Ludhiana for betting on England-West Indies Test match

Police have recovered eight mobile phones, a laptop and Rs 1,850 in cash from their possession.

Three men were arrested for accepting bets on the ongoing Test match between England and West Indies on Monday night.

During questioning, the accused revealed that they had a secure network of bookies for the past two years. They accept bets only within this circle and keep all records in the mobile phones in form of call recordings, said police. (Getty Images)

The accused were operating from a house in Santokh Nagar. Police have recovered eight mobile phones, a laptop and Rs 1,850 in cash from their possession.

The accused have been identified as Rakesh Kumar of Panchkula, Sanjiv Kumar of Ramesh Nagar and Pawan Kumar of Kartar Colony.

Police found voice recordings of people setting bets on the match in their mobile phones, which have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Kharar, for data recovery.

They also found that the mobile phone, used for accepting bets, was procured using fake identity documents.

ASI Gurwinder Singh said the Daresi police arrested the accused following a tip-off.

“During questioning, the accused revealed that they had a secure network of bookies for the past two years. They accept bets only within this circle and keep all records in the mobile phones in form of call recordings,” he said.

The day after the match, they collect and distribute payments according to the result, the ASI added.

Police said Rakesh Kumar was the kingpin of the betting racket. A realtor, he is already facing trial in two cases of gambling lodged in Mansa and Panchkula.

“The house from where the police arrested the accused belongs to Rakesh’s father-in-law. We are investigating the involvement of the house owner,” said additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 1) Deepak Pareek.

All accused were booked under Sections 13A, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act.