Four held for Cricket betting in Delhi

New Delhi: Four suspected bookies were arrested for allegedly taking bets during the Asia Cup Final cricket match between India and Bangladesh in southeast Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area, police said on Tuesday.

The accused persons were identified as Sandeep Kumar alias Sonu (33), Harish Kumar (35), Naveen Kumar (31) and Harvinder Singh (34), they said.

"On the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the police received information regarding a cricket betting racket being active in Lajpat Nagar area.

At around 1 am when the Asia Cup Final was being played between India and Bangladesh, the police laid a trap and conducted raid at an apartment," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said.

During the raid, four people were arrested while they were taking bets on mobile phones, he said.

"During interrogation, the accused persons disclosed that they all are known to each other and were in business of property construction and dealing.

In the last few years, they suffered losses in the business. To earn quick money, they started gambling and placing bets during cricket matches," Biswal said.

One laptop, eight mobile phones, a calculator, registers and some notebooks were seized from their possession, he added.