Probing fake kidnapping case, cops bust online betting racket, 8 arrested
Police in Greater Noida and a SWAT team has busted an international online cricket betting racket while investigating a fake kidnapping case and arrested eight accused involved in the racket. Kasna police seized four laptops, 26 mobile phones, 16 SIM cards, fake Aadhaar cards, cheque books, passbooks, passports and other suspicious documents.The case began on June 12, when Subhash Chandra, from Rajasthan's Alwar, informed the police that his 22-year-old son Bheem Singh and 25-year-old nephew Narayan had allegedly been kidnapped in Noida and a ransom of Rs 7 lakh was demanded.advertisement'On June 12, Subhash Chandra reported that his 22-year-old son Bheem Singh and nephew Narayan had been kidnapped in the Kasna police station area. A ransom demand of Rs 7 lakh was made by an unknown caller,' said Saad Miya Khan, Greater Noida DCP.
'Using electronic surveillance and manual intelligence, police traced the location to White Orchid Apartments and Radha Sky Garden in Gaur City. Four suspects, including a man named Dhruv, were found there. During the search, we recovered laptops, mobile phones, illegal SIMs and fake documents,' the DCP added. The case was immediately taken up by the Kasna police and the SWAT team, led by the DCP, who traced the victims' location using electronic surveillance and manual intelligence.Bheem was located at White Orchid Apartments, where four men, namely Dhruv, Mukeem, Vishal, and Sunny, were caught. They confessed to being part of an online cricket betting operation using the banned app Rudra Criclive.advertisementRaids at other locations like Radha Sky Garden led to the arrest of Bheem Singh, Narayan, Himanshu and Sukhdev, who were also involved in the betting network.During the investigation, police found that the accused used WhatsApp to connect with users and provide betting IDs for placing live bets on cricket matches.The network was linked to handlers based in Thailand and Dubai, who arranged fake documents, bank accounts and SIM cards. The racket reportedly earned Rs 30 lakh daily, which was later transferred to foreign accounts.Police also said that Bheem Singh admitted that the kidnapping story was fabricated to extort money from his own family under the guise of a ransom demand.Police are now probing money laundering, digital transactions and accounts used in the racket will soon be frozen. Authorities also plan to send notices to social media influencers who promoted the betting app.(with inputs from Arun Tyagi)Trending Reel
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