The police realized that the arrested were running and operating an illegal betting racket duping people using the Mahadev Book app in the Madhurawada region of PM Palem station jurisdiction. No sooner than the cybercrime team came to know about this, they informed the involved banks to freeze monies close to Rs 5 crore from over 70 bank accounts.
Police Commissioner C.M. Trivikarama Varma actively handled the case and ordered a CTF (City Task Force) team to raid the location of betting operators, wherein as many as 53 cellphones and seven laptops were brought under seizure of the police.
In a presser on Saturday, June 3, CP Varma explained the matter by saying that accused Ajit Kumar rented a house in the name of establishing an online grocery business, but transferred the possession in the hands of the other accused Prateek Mishra. Now, Prateek used his contacts to get the franchise of Mahadev Book betting app, and then with the help of young persons in their twenties across states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Bihar, operated the illegal betting business.
‘The accused would block the users’ – Commissioner Varma
“After paying a registration fee starting from around ₹5,000, the platform gives an ID and password. The user can log in and start playing online betting games. Then to lure him/her, the app developers gift them with more money than what they would get otherwise. This makes the user to invest more. Later at some point when money invested is huge, the accused would block the user,” Varma was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
The Police Commissioner in the presence of DCP (Zone II) K. Anand Reddy, DCP Crimes G. Naganna and others further went on to add that if they come across cheaters and fraudulent online applications, they should feel free to reach out to the police without being hesitant. He also said that the police will take necessary steps to retrieve the defrauded amounts, prior receiving sufficient evidences.
Now as per the regulatory operations, the minutes of the case will be shared by the city police with the Enforcement Directorate for additional investigation in the matter related to the same, as there have been numerous cases of illegal betting rackets across states in the country.
