Online cricket betting racket to lure college students in Pune busted by crime branch

Crime Branch Police in Pune has busted a racket of criminals who lure the college students for online cricket betting during the IPL matches complaint filed by a college student, Umesh Mulchandani.

The Pune Mirror reported that Mulchandani, a 23-year-old college student, was first accosted by Gaurav Ahuja, a 20-year-old college student and Ajay Shinde (36), who happens to be the son of a police constable and yet a known criminal, when he was eating out with his friends.

The duo got under the nerves of Mulchandani as a warning to his friend Rajat Grover owed them Rs 2.5 lakh after losing a bet. According to the report, they threatened to kill him if they didn't get their money back in time.

The racket was originally carried out by notorious gangster Sachin Pote, one of the city's top 10 gangsters, which the Crime Branch found out during their investigation. The Police also recovered mobile phone recordings of the accused threatening Mulchandani and extorting money.

"The gang lured students into betting. Subsequently Ajay Shinde and Sachin Pote stepped in to threaten the students and recover the money,"crime branch police sub-inspector, Shashikant Shinde, noted in the investigation report.

Upon the conclusion of the initial investigation, the police booked all three of Ahuja, Shinde and Pote under sections 387 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act.