In the hot IPL season, cricket betting has reached even the rural parts. This is also because betting syndicates have moved out of the City to these parts to escape the close watch of the police in the city.
A senior police officer said that operators from Bengaluru have moved to far-off districts, like Udupi, Koppal, Hubli and Belgaum, spreading the betting menace in these parts too. Joint Commissioner of Police (East) B. Dayanand said, “Due to frequent raids and identification of habitual offenders, operators have moved out of Bengaluru. It was evident from last week’s raids conducted by the CCB police, who tracked down a habitual offender to a town near Udupi, where he was running the racket,’’ he said.
The CCB police raided a guesthouse near Kapu in Udupi and arrested Kunal Narang, a prime operative in Bangaluru. The cops recovered `14.9 lakh, a laptop and 34 mobile phones from him. A native of Himachal Pradesh, Kunal was said to be running an organised IPL cricket betting racket. The police first arrested Atish Kumar, a native of Arunachal Pradesh, at a hotel in Chikkamaranahalli near Sanjaynagar. Based on his information, the police raided the Kapu guesthouse.
A senior police officer said that the betting virus has spread among the rural people too. Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr Boralingaiah said that though earlier there were reports of small-time betting, it was never as organised as it is now. “The magnitude and modus operandi of these betting rackets is not known. There have been no raids, but we do have specific information that IPL betting has spread to rural areas,’’ he said. The police suspect that online betting is picking up in Bengaluru.
A senior police officer said anonymity of both the bettor and the syndicate and the ease of transactions have made web-based betting. But modus operandi is still being investigated, he added.