Maharashtra: Crime Branch busts cricket betting racket in Mira - Bhayandar

On Tuesday, the crime branch unit (central zone) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar Police (MBBV) detained a small-time bookie who was caught red-handed conducting an internet cricket betting scam from a shop on Mira Road.

The crime branch team stormed a business in the Naya Nagar neighbourhood of Mira Road at around 10 a.m., acting on a tip-off received by Police Inspector Rahul Raakh. The accused, Vinod Vasudev Dalwani (48), was seen accepting and placing teams from Wellington and Central Districts in the present Super-Smash domestic Twenty-20 cricket event in Fitzherbert Park, New Zealand.

The accused was found to be utilising user IDs and passwords on the platform of an online betting app that was found to be loaded on his smartphone. The FIR also names the commission agent who helped arrange the unlawful betting activities. Meanwhile, an offence has been registered against the accused duo at the Naya Nagar police station in Mira Road under the relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1985, and the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act, 1987. Additional investigations were being undertaken.