Crackdown on online betting: State cops arrest 14 from 5 states

Raipur: In a major crackdown on illegal online betting during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Chhattisgarh police have arrested 14 individuals from across five states—Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar—for allegedly placing and managing bets through the Mahadev betting app, officials said on Wednesday.

According to Raipur Range Inspector General of Police Amresh Mishra, the accused were operating through specific panels of the Mahadev app, namely L95 Lotus, Lotus 651, and LOTUS 656. The arrests come as part of a broader investigation into the app-based betting racket, which is already under the scanner of CBI.

Of those arrested, six are from Chhattisgarh, three from Jharkhand, two from Madhya Pradesh, and one each from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Eight suspects were apprehended in Kolkata, while six were nabbed in Guwahati, Mishra added.

The arrests stemmed from leads obtained during the interrogation of Nikhil Wadhwani, who was taken into custody on April 13 for operating online IPL betting operations.

During the raid, police seized a massive haul of digital and financial evidence, including 67 mobile phones, 8 laptops, 4 routers, 94 ATM cards, 15 SIM cards, 32 bank passbooks, 3 cheque books, a security camera, and transaction records worth Rs 30 lakh.

The accused reportedly purchased betting panels for amounts ranging between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, and have carried out betting-related transactions worth crores of rupees through nearly 500 bank accounts, Mishra said. Authorities are now working to freeze these accounts.

Officials have also sent letters to banks to freeze over 1,500 additional accounts suspected to be involved in the betting racket.

The investigation is ongoing.