10 bookies have been arrested in Hyderabad after the Cyberabad police busted an online IPL cricket betting network. The arrests were made on Monday evening during the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants when the police raided a house in Bachupally.

The raid was conducted based on credible intelligence gathered by the SOT Balanagar Zone and the Bachupally squad of the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate who had been keeping an eye on the illegal activities of cricket betting rackets, told the Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra.

During the raid, the police arrested 10 individuals and seized Rs 60.39 lakh in cash along with the amounts in their bank accounts. The police also seized equipment which included eight laptops, eight keypad phones, three TVs, keyboards, two CPUs, monitor set-top box, headsets, a printer, Wi-Fi routers, microphones, three two-wheelers and 10 smartphones according to News18.

The total value of case property is estimated to be around Rs 1 crore. The arrested persons are identified as Y. Venkata Shivarama Krishna, Singmaneni Kiran Kumar, Nandam Srinivas Babu, Kadiyala Mahesh, Chereddy Kasi, Addepalli Prathap Gana Kumar, K.Vijay Kumar, G. Srikanth, A.Vinay and B.Venkata Ratna Kumar.

All the arrested individuals have been charged under sections 3 and 4 of TS Gaming Act. According to the police, the main culprit Pandu, who was running the gang, is currently on the run. The police are on the look out for him.

Police claim that some people are getting drawn to betting on cricket, considering it as an opportunity to make quick money. However, this can lead to lifelong addiction to gambling. In the end, it is the bookmakers who profit while the gamblers do not, said the police.

Betting activities have risen in the past few days coinciding with the start of IPL 2023. Numerous news reports of illegal betting and gambling are surfacing of late.