Police bust online betting racket in Nashik

Nashik: The Nashik city police arrested four men running an online betting racket from a hotel room in the Ambad area on Friday night.During the raid, the police confiscated a laptop and nine cellphones, among other equipment, collectively valued at Rs 2.8 lakh.The police have registered a case against four individuals under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act.According to a senior officer from the Ambad police station, the raid was conducted based on a tip-off received by a patrol team constable at 10.30 pm on Friday. The constable received a call from a woman stating that an online betting operation was underway at a hotel in Ambad area.The constablerushed to the hotel. Upon searching the rooms, he caught four people red-handed in one of the rooms, accepting bets of the ongoing IPL T20 match.The constable promptly alerted senior police officials, after which a panchnama was conducted. During the search, police recovered a register indicating that the accused had been accepting bets on cricket matches from May 3 to May 29.Of the four arrested individuals, three hail from Jalgaon, while one is a resident of Nashik city.During questioning, the suspects failed to give satisfactory answers regarding the ownership of the seized cellphones. The police confirmed that all four individuals have been arrested.