Following the arrest of 16 suspects a few days ago, the Noida police announced on Friday that they had arrested yet another in relation to the Mahadev book online betting ring, bringing the total number of arrests to 17.

Speaking on the arrest, a spokesperson said, “Accused Sachin Soni was arrested from a flat in Golden Palms society in Sector 168 where he had been hiding for the past few days. One laptop, one smartphone, five forged Aadhar cards, and a house rent agreement have been seized from his possession.”

The Jhansi native Sachin Soni was among the key culprits in the group that defrauded people more than Rs 4,000 crore using the Mahadev Book betting application and was named as one of the main suspects by the police, according to The Print.

Earlier this month, the police booked 16 people for their involvement in the Mahadev Book gambling ring. All the arrested suspects are accused of duping more than Rs 400 crore out of people in the last two months.

During the raid, the police seized 12 laptops, 73 smartphones, 19 checkbooks, six passbooks, 90 ATM cards, 58 sim cards, six passports, two SUVs, and some important documents.

The investigation into the Mahadev Book app’s creator revealed that Saurabh Chandrakar, the mastermind of the Mahadev book betting ring operations, is managed by many individuals in various places throughout the country while he himself lives in Dubai.

Not only the Noida police but police in different states are on the lookout for gang members using the Mahadev book application to defraud people.

The group allegedly fraudulently makes an average of Rs 250–300 crore each month and has a network across 11 other countries. Police say that further investigations are underway. All the arrested individuals are sent to judicial custody.