The Crime Branch has arrested five accused after raiding an IPL cricket betting den operating from a flat in View Residency, Manish Nagar, Beltarodi. The action has created panic among bookies in the city. The arrested accused have been identified as Suraj Umesh Roy (26), resident of Shastri Ward, Pandharkawada, District Yavatmal; Sagar Dhanraj Shivhare (35), resident of Take-off City, Bahadura, Hudkeshwar, Nagpur; Jitendra Shankarrao Khante (30), resident of Shakti Mata Nagar, Kharbi, Nagpur; Sumit Subhash Roy (34), resident of Parvati Nagar, Ajni, Nagpur; and Vicky Ganesh Jaiswal (37), resident of Shyam Dham Society, Manish Nagar, Beltarodi, Nagpur.

 

According to police, Suraj Roy is the mastermind of the racket, while Vicky Jaiswal is his brother-in-law. Suraj had rented the flat in View Residency and was running the betting operations from there. Officials from Crime Branch Unit 3 had been tracking the racket for several days. On Thursday, during the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, the team confirmed the exact location and carried out a raid. All five accused were caught on the spot. Police seized valuables worth Rs 11.84 lakh, including a tablet, 10 mobile phones, one car, and a two-wheeler. Sources said the accused were connected with bookies in Nagpur, Yavatmal, and Amravati and were running a wider betting network. A month ago, Crime Branch had raided a betting den in Hingna and arrested Lomesh, Amjad, Badal and Wadhwani.