6-member cricket betting gang busted

Kadapa: A six-member gang involved in online cricket betting in Proddatur town of Kadapa district has been arrested, and cash amounting to Rs 6.28 lakh, eight mobile phones and four bank passbooks used in the illegal transactions have been seized. According to Kadapa SP Sri Shelke Nachiketh Viswanath, IPS, the gang was running organised betting operations through the website royalbook365.co.in and had opened multiple current accounts in different banks to route betting funds. Police said the gang was operating from Bengaluru and had created a network of account holders in Proddatur to facilitate deposits and withdrawals linked to the betting platform.

The case came to light after Pedamallu Jagan, a resident of Chinnaguruvuluru village in Chapadu mandal, lodged a complaint on Monday, alleging that the gang had coerced him into opening current accounts under the guise of online trading. When he refused to cooperate further, the accused allegedly assaulted him, seized his ATM card and issued threats. Based on the complaint, Proddatur II Town Police registered a case and launched an investigation under the supervision of DSP P Bhavana.

The probe revealed that two key organisers, Veera Shankar and Chandra of Lingapuram village, who are currently operating from Bengaluru, recruited several locals to open accounts and paid them commissions. The arrested accused — Arla Chenna Krishna, Daggada Narendra, Meruva Hari, Illuri Sudhakar Kumar Reddy, Pallapothula Krishna Reddy and Satna Ravi Teja — allegedly allowed their bank accounts to be used for betting transactions. Police identified 16 bank accounts linked to the racket and froze Rs 8.7 lakh so far, with instructions issued to banks to block all suspicious accounts.

The SP said non-bailable cases have been booked and warned that involvement in organised financial crime ruins the future of youth. He added that proposals have been sent to the DGP to block betting websites and that police surveillance on illegal online gaming apps has been intensified. Search operations are underway to nab the main organisers, who are currently absconding.