Police bust cricket betting racket, 1 held

Kolkata: The cops on Sunday conducted a raid at an office on the second floor of a building at Indian Exchange Place, and arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly running a cricket betting operation. The raid took place during the India-South Africa match in the ongoing T20 World Cup.The arrested person was identified as Pratik Pincha (32), a resident of Ganges Garden on KCS Road in Shibpur. Investigators alleged that the accused was facilitating cricket betting through the ‘Skyfair' and ‘Skyexchange' apps. "Pincha is originally from Bikaner and came to Howrah four years back. He stated that he is a businessman who deals in paper. He runs a betting syndicate by means of different betting apps. One key to a room in a hotel was found with him. Different betting applications were found on his phone, along with Rs 40,000 in cash. He is remanded to police custody till March 2," said Joint CP (crime & traffic) Rupesh Kumar.
A case is being initiated at Hare Street Police Station under sections 61(2) and 318(4) of the BNS, read with sections 3 and 4 of the West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competitions Act, police said. Officers indicated that the legal process to register the case and produce the accused before the appropriate court is underway.