2 Indians taken into custody for betting in Sri Lanka v Bangladesh ODI

In a good development, the Indian police have trapped a betting den in which the two accused men were allegedly betting on the ODI played between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Local Crime Branch (LCB), Godhra, Gujarat trapped the gang, allegedly run by local BJP councilor Chetan Satvani in the Gujarat town and arrested two persons on Saturday night.

The councilor, though, managed to escape before the police reached there to nab him. As per the police, the accused were betting on the one-day match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, on Saturday. Sunil Amalchandani and Kailash Chatwani, both local residents of Godhra in Gujarat, have been booked under various sections of The Public Gambling Act.

Amalchandani and Chatwani were caught red-handed during a raid by the LCB. The duo live in Suvidha society in Godhra. Two laptops, nineteen mobile phones, and two television sets along with other electronic devices, the worth of which amounted to Rs. 4 lakh have been seized. “The two arrested accused have confessed to the involvement of Chetan Satmani who is a BJP councilor in Godhra Nagarpalika. He had escaped before the raid.” reports in the Indian Expresses quoted.

This news has come during the build up to the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, during which a lot of betting is reported. But this menace, even after being brought to limelight several times, is not completely eradicated from the game. While betting in some western countries is done openly and legally, it is a major crime in a developing country like India.

Betting has also been reported among young boys, who bet in exchange for small sums of money. Earlier this month, a local court in Hyderabad sentenced four persons for one-month imprisonment after they were convicted of organizing and betting on international cricket matches in 2010.