Bhubaneswar: Puri police on Wednesday busted an IPL betting racket, arresting four men and seizing over Rs 25 lakh in cash, while freezing an additional Rs 31.81 lakh from their bank accounts.The accused have been identified as Prasanna Prusty, B Nageswar Rao, Biswanath Lenka, and Ramakanta Sahoo, all in their 40s and residents of Puri district.“Our cyber police station received credible information about betting on IPL matches. Acting on the tip-off, a raid was conducted near Masani Chandi temple where several persons were found participating in betting,” said SP (Puri) Prateek Singh.Police said interrogation and mobile phone verification confirmed that the accused were operating through an online betting application. They allegedly lured hundreds of unsuspecting people to place bets on ongoing IPL matches.During personal searches, police seized Rs 3.04 lakh in cash and six mobile phones. A subsequent raid at Prusty’s residence led to the recovery of Rs 22.31 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds of illegal betting.“During investigation, deposits worth Rs 31.81 lakh in their accounts have been frozen. It has also been established that they have been running this illegal business in Puri city for the past two years,” Singh said.Police sources revealed that Prusty and his associate Sahoo had prior criminal records. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest other members of the racket.
