Guntur police bust cricket betting racket

Main bookie nabbed, says SP

Superintendent of Police Ch Venkata Appala Naidu presenting the accused before the media in Guntur on Thursday.

The Guntur Rural Police on Thursday claimed to have pinned down a main bookie, who has more than 25 sub-bookies in his network, following a massive crackdown on cricket betting in the district.

Superintendent of Police Ch. Venkat Appalanaidu said that Gunti Venkat, 34, a native of Tenali, has been arrested. Investigations revealed that Venkat had connections with bookies in Vijayawda and had been allegedly running an organised gang of punters/sub bookies spread across the villages near Tenali. Police seized ₹5.51 lakh, mobile phones, an LED TV and a wireless router.

Venkat had been earlier convicted in a case charged under Sections 3 and 4 of Gaming Act and had a suspect sheet in Tenali. Explaining about the

modus operandi , the SP said that the gang led by Venkat has been actively involved in betting since the IPL season had begun. On May 19, Pathan Sheriff Khan from Jampani village told the police that he was cheated by Venkat after winning the bet on a match. The police, acting on the information, swiftly rounded up the gang and later nabbed Venkat.

The other accused, China Sambasiva Rao, Kanaparthi Ratna Raju, Perikam Mani Krishna, Kallem Venkat Reddy, Polisetty Ramu were also arrested.

With the arrest of the main bookie, the police are hoping to crack down on a vast network of organised betting which has now spread to smaller towns and has been luring small-time businessmen into its fold.