Cricket betting racket busted, four arrested in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: The City Task Force (CTF) of police today claimed to have busted a cricket betting racket with the arrest of four persons.

Police raided a flat in the city and arrested four persons last night, however the prime accused Kalidindi Raju managed to escape, said a police officer.

The gang, hailing from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district, was accepting bets over phone on the match between Rising Pune Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders last night, police said.

A multi-level communicator equipment box, a laptop, a TV, a printer, several mobile phones and Rs 2.64 lakh in cash were seized from them, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, North Zone) Navin Gulati.

Kalidindi Raju (28) and his accomplices had rented a flat at Panorama Hills Apartments here from where they were running their betting operation for the past few months, he said.

Arrested accused were identified as Dandu Upendra (23), Kalidini Sairam Varma (22), Thumpala Venkatesulu (25) and Gottimukkala Sai Ram Raju (26).

ACP (Special Task Force) I Chittibabu said the accused browsed betting websites to ascertain the current odds offered on various teams in the international betting market.

—PTI