Bookie caught after year of cop chase in IPL betting racket

Niranjan Parik, alias Gopal, was on the run for a year before being finally apprehended by the Mumbai city crime unit. The accused was booked in an IPL betting case and was arrested recently leading to several revelations. The tip-off came from Sachin Waze, a dismissed assistant police inspector and the former head of the crime intelligence unit.

The CIU and the property cell of Mumbai Police caught four bookies namely Dipesh Jain, Piyush JK Ashar, Digesh Mehta and Hardik Maliya in the act, who were apprehended from a flat in Mulund along with two laptops, 49 mobile phones, SIM cards, routers, line boxes, documents and a cash amount of around INR 2 lakhs.

The racket, according to the CIU, is suspected to be operated on an international level, as informed by Waze in a report by the Times of India. Waze was arrested earlier this week in connection with an extortion complaint filed by a restaurant-bar owner in Goregaon. After his arrest, the case was transferred to the jurisdiction of Ghatkopar crime branch unit 7, which later arrested Parik. The CIU can expedite the case and file a chargesheet against Parik, as informed by the officer incharge.