Cachar Police going hard on IPL gamblers; Four arrested from Sonai Road, search for kingpin is on

Illegal gambling hubs have gained popularity in Silchar. Most of them function online giving hardly any clue for the Police officials to bust their rackets. But the nexus has taken a vicious shape as families are getting bankrupt.

Recently, Barak Bulletin published a detailed story on how the IPL gambling-nexus is executing its operation sophisticatedly in Silchar. Ramandeep Kaur, superintendent of Police, Cachar had made it clear that the district police is keeping a hawk’s eye on these antisocial activities and will immediately take action if they get to notice anything suspicious.

Accordingly, based on a secret tip-off, Rangirkhari Police raided a residence in Sonai Road and arrested four individuals after they were caught red-handed. Pallab Deb, Manna Das, Bijit Kangsa Banik and Dibbojyoti Bhattacharjee were produced at the court. As per sources, Das and Banik complained of medical complications and that is why they have been rushed to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Whereas, Deb and Bhattacharjee have been locked up in jail as per the court’s order.

Police sources have informed that they are after the agents who collect the bet and forward it to their bosses. There are various apps that these agents use to provide odds to betters. While some agents are operating locally, they have bosses outside Silchar and Assam too. One such individual, who used to collect bets from agents has relocated to Chennai.

“There are odds for win and loss. Then there are customised packages like, runs after five overs, wickets after five overs, tournament winner, best batsman, best bowler. There are people who even bet on runs this over for short term return. The money is transferred using Google Pay or other online mode and credited through the same mode. At times, for bets over Rs 2 lakh and so on, the agents involve bigger book-keepers who can afford such bets,” informed a source aware of the process.

There are instances where a man was supposed to stock up at his grocery store but ended up losing all the money in a losing bet. He then started chasing his losses and is now in deep debt within a week. One of the four arrested is supposed to get married soon. His marriage is now in jeopardy as he is locked inside. While one sees the easy money, the devastation involved is huge.