Five held for betting during IPL match

KOLKATA: The police have arrested five persons for betting while the IPL match between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was going on at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday night.

Among the five, three persons were nabbed from the gallery and two were picked up from a hotel in New Market area.

On Wednesday night during the match, police personnel in plain cloth spotted three persons identified as Sunil Kumar, Aniket Kumar and Obada Khalil of Darbhanga in Bihar at the F1 block of Eden Gardens, were constantly making phone calls and informing someone about the live match. On suspicion cops went close to them and kept a strict vigil on them until they were sure that the suspects were betting.

A few moments later more police personnel were called in and the three persons were detained and brought out from the Eden Gardens. During search, police found five mobile phones from them. Meanwhile during a preliminary interrogation, the suspected accused persons told the cops that two more people are staying in a hotel on New Market area who are involved in the betting racket. Immediately, they conducted a raid at the said hotel and picked up two more persons identified as Amar Kumar Mahto and Ajay Kumar of Darbhanga in Bihar. Two more mobile phones were seized from their possession. Later a case was registered at the Maidan police station and the detained persons were arrested.