Online betting racket busted in H’bag, man held

Hazaribag: Police on Tuesday busted an alleged online betting racket operating in Hazaribag district and arrested a 28-year-old man. The accused was identified as Rahul Kumar, a resident of Bonga village under Ichak police station limits. He resides near Siddhi Vinayak Path on Canary Hill Road under Korra police station limits.Police said the betting racket was operated by Rahul and his cousin Prince Kumar, who allegedly enrolled youths from different areas to carry out the illegal operations. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by DSP (headquarters), Gyan Ranjan, conducted searches at multiple locations.Hazaribag SP Aman Kumar said, “Rahul attempted to escape on spotting the police team but was apprehended. Two mobile phones were seized from his possession.”After examining his devices, access to several online betting platforms was found, the SP said.Rahul told police that he and Prince were operating different IDs on the platforms and collecting money from customers. The illegal operations were being managed under a master ID, with the network reportedly active in Ranchi and Chatra districts as well, the police said. Preliminary scrutiny of the seized phones revealed transactions worth around Rs 3-4 crore routed through the betting IDs, police said.“A case has been registered at Korra police station under relevant sections of the BNS and the Jharkhand Online Gambling (Prevention and Regulation) Act, 2025. Rahul has been sent to judicial custody, while raids are on to arrest the remaining members of the network, including Prince,” the SP added.