Five arrested for online cricket betting

Berhampur: Police on Wednesday arrested five persons from different places in the silk city for their alleged involvement in illegal IPL cricket betting online. The accused were identified as Brundaban Panigrahy (42) of Laxmi Nursingh Sahi, Ramakant Samantara (42) of Sasthri Nagar, P. Santosh Kumar (40) of Desibehera Sahi, Muralidhar Biswal (40) of New Khajuria, and Sridhar Sahu (26) of Badadand Sahi, Bada Bazar, police said. Six mobile phones, three two-wheelers, money transaction details, and Rs 70,000 cash were seized from the accused, they said. SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M said they requested the banks to freeze the accounts of the accused.

He said based on intelligence inputs police personnel in Baidyanathpur and town police stations kept a watch on those engaged in IPL betting using mobile phones and laptops through websites. While verifying the mobile phones of the accused, they found money transfers online and chats regarding betting against different teams. The accused were found to have bet on the recent match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, he said.