The Pimpri-Chinchwad police booked three people on Saturday for allegedly taking bets on a recent cricket match between India and South Africa through an illegal online application.
The police said they briefly detained one of them—Bhavesh Pradip Lakhwani, 25, a resident of Vijay Apartment in Pimpri—near the Waghere Park Society around 6.50 pm after receiving a tip-off.
“A notice has been issued to Lakhwani for further investigation in this case,” said Assistant Police Inspector Digambar Atigre. The ASI said that Lakhwani was taking bets through an app called “Taj777” on his phone, adding that a cell phone worth Rs 1 lakh was seized from him for further investigation.
The police are searching for the two others—identified as Pande and Kiran—who were also allegedly found involved in illegal online cricket betting along with Lakhwani. All three accused have been booked under sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act and the Indian Telegraph Act.
About a week ago, the Pimpri-Chinchwad police arrested three men for allegedly operating an illegal online betting racket through “Reddy Anna”, a banned web application for betting. They were identified as Rajendra Ladual Gadri, 20, from Rajasthan; Tejeshwar Rao, 25, from Chhattisgarh; and Chandankumar Rajendra Pande, 30, from Uttar Pradesh.
The police said the arrested men were found at a rented apartment in Mulshi taking bets on an India-South Africa cricket match.
