Bhubaneswar, May 4 (IANS) The Rajgangpur Police in Odisha’s Sundargarh district have successfully busted an Indian Premier League (IPL) betting racket operating in the area and apprehended five persons involved in illegal betting activities, a police official said.

The senior police official on Sunday added that following the receipt of credible intelligence, the Sundargarh Superintendent of Police Amritpal Kaur directed a special team to take prompt action against the illegal IPL betting operations.

On Sunday, the team conducted a raid in Rajgangpur and successfully detected the betting racket.

During the raid, five individuals were apprehended who were actively engaged in running the betting network and collecting money from various persons.

Additionally, the police officials seized Rs 6,00,000 cash while froze Rs 17,61,367 kept in bank account along with five mobile phones.

A case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act, and Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act has been registered at the Rajgangpur Police Station in this regard.

The Odisha Police have recently busted similar betting rackets in Puri and Ber̥hampur areas of the state.

In April, Puri Police busted an IPL betting network, arresting four individuals and seizing more than Rs 25 lakh in cash, while freezing Rs 31.81 lakh in bank deposits linked to the accused.

Police said that interrogation and mobile phone analysis showed the group operated through an online betting platform, luring numerous people to bet on IPL matches.

During searches, Rs 3.04 lakh and six mobile phones were recovered, while a raid at one accused’s residence yielded Rs 22.31 lakh, suspected as betting proceeds.

Police added that the frozen Rs 31.81 lakh transactions are under probe and the racket had been active in Puri for nearly two years.

Meanwhile, the Berhampur police arrested a 21-year-old bookie involved in an IPL betting racket.

The police also found that the bookie is linked to online gaming website ag.noor333.com.

–IANS

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