Punter held for placing bets on IPL match

Mumbai: The Anti Human Trafficking wing (AHTW) of the Thane (rural) police has arrested a punter, identified as Rakesh Sharma (41) from an apartment in the Saalasar Magar area of Bhayandar (east) on Wednesday night.  Sharma was allegedly caught while placing bets on the recent IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Police suspect that the accused not only placed bets for himself but also acted as a middleman between other local punters and a Rajasthan-based  bookie, who is under the scanner. Not ruling out more arrests, API Bangar said,  “It appears that this person was working as an agent by inviting telephonic bets from various parts of the city and forwarding the stakes to a key bookie who operates from Rajasthan. Investigations are on to trace the actual bookie.”

The police team seized mobile phones, a laptop, a television set, set-top box and gambling material from the apartment, a case under relevant sections of the Mumbai Gambling Act and Indian Telegraph Act has been registered against the accused.