PUNE: As many as 31 men, including three prominent bookies, were arrested late on Friday night following police raids at six spots for running an illegal horse race betting racket in the city.
Six laptops, some cash, 31 cell phones and other articles used to run the illegal betting racket, collectively worth Rs3.41 lakh, were seized from the arrested people. The raids continued till Saturday morning.
The city police filed six cases against the 31 arrested men at Wanowrie, Kondhwa and Hadapsar police stations. A city court on Saturday remanded them in police custody till Sunday.
Accepting bets on horse races outside the premises of racecourses is illegal.
Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta had ordered the raids on Friday. A team headed by deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Deshmukh (Zone IV) raided the six spots and arrested the 31 men.
Deshmukh said, “Accepting bets outside the premises of racecourses is not allowed according to the provisions of the Bombay Racecourse Licensing Act. One must bet on a horse on the premises of a racecourse. If bets are accepted beyond the premises of a racecourse, it is illegal in nature. These men were found accepting bets from people over phones and through online means.”
A senior police officer said betting tickets attracted goods and services tax (GST). Betting operated outside the racecourses deprived the government of the GST, he said.
The 31 arrested men were operating the betting racket from their houses, paan stalls, hotel rooms and other places. The police have invoked provisions of the Gambling Act, Bombay Racecourse Licensing Act and Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC against the arrested persons.
Another senior police officer said, “During the nationwide lockdown, people started staying in home and there were no horse races in the country. The races resumed in November, but many people preferred to bet on horses using online modes and through phones.”
Senior police inspector Gajanan Pawar lodged a formal complaint regarding the illegal betting racket.
Inspector Shilpa Chavan of the crime branch is probing the case.