Online betting racket busted, Rs 50.53 lakh cash seized

 

 

 

 

The Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit, in a joint operation with Ganj police station, busted an online betting racket operating from a four-wheeler near Sindhu Bhawan parking on Pathak Hospital Road and seized cash amounting to Rs 50.35 lakh. Four accused were arrested while allegedly running online betting operations using laptops and mobile phones from inside the vehicle. According to police, the team received specific information on January 8, 2025, that certain individuals were conducting online betting activities from a car parked in the Ganj police station area.

 

Acting under the direction of senior officers, a joint team reached the spot and identified the vehicle mentioned by the informant. Upon checking the four-wheeler, four persons were found inside who identified themselves as Ritesh Govindani, Mohammad Akhtar, Vikram Rajkori and Sagar Pinjani. During inspection of their laptops and mobile phones, police found that the accused were operating online betting through master IDs and user IDs of various online betting websites, including Allpanelexch.com, Power7777.com, Powerexch.com and Classicexch99.com. A large amount of cash was also recovered from their possession. When questioned, the accused failed to give satisfactory answers and attempted to mislead the police.

 

Further investigation revealed that Ritesh Govindani and Sagar Pinjani were supplying master IDs of different online betting platforms to gamblers and operators on a commission basis, while Mohammad Akhtar and Vikram Rajkori were providing betting IDs to customers, also earning commission. All four were found to be illegally profiting from online betting activities. Police seized Rs 50,35,000 in cash, two laptops, ten mobile phones, a Hyundai Tucson car bearing registration number CG 04 NQ 7745, along with passports,

 

ATM cards, checkbooks and a calculator. The total value of the seized items is estimated to be around Rs 80 lakh. In addition, bank accounts of the accused containing transactions worth crores of rupees have been frozen as part of the investigation. A case has been registered at Ganj police station under Crime No. 06/26 under Section 7 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act 2022, Section 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66(C) of the Information Technology Act. Police have also obtained information about customers who placed bets using the IDs supplied by the accused.

 

Legal action will be initiated against those involved in online betting through these accounts. Police officials stated that the crackdown is the result of an evolving strategy to tackle changing crime patterns. The ACCU team had been closely monitoring the lifestyle and daily activities of the accused after noticing unusually high expenditures. The investigation gained momentum after Vikram Rajkori recently returned from a foreign trip, following which the operation was carried out under the supervision of senior officers. The police also confirmed that Ritesh Govindani has previously been jailed in cases related to rioting at Gudhiyari police station and gambling at Telibandha police station, while Vikram Rajkori was earlier imprisoned in a case involving prohibited hookah-related material at Bemetara police station.