By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, July 7: On Monday, the Metropolitan Crime Division arrested eight individuals, including three Indian nationals, from different parts of Kathmandu for organising illegal online betting over the ongoing Euro Cup 2020. Acting on special tipoff, the division arrested Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan and Jivan Lama of Kathmandu, Suraj Tibdewal of Parsa, Govinda Prasad Acharya of Chitwan and Amarnath Gupta of Morang.
Similarly, the three Indian nationals have been identified as Ashok Kumar Gupta of Bihar, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal of Haryana and Suchit Dalmiya Agrawal of Rajasthan.
The division had arrested the eight individuals from Indra Chowk, Maru Tole, New Road, Chhetrapati and Gaurighat areas. Police also seized over Rs. 3.4 million from them.
During the preliminary investigation, the racket was also found to be cheating the bettors by making them bet on the losing side so they could earn more profit.
The money for betting was received and sent through money transfers.
The eight individuals were sent to Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu for further investigation and legal procedures.
While it was a great achievement for the authorities, Nepal Police has not been able to bust such rackets effectively since the betting takes place digitally.
“The ones organising illegal betting for bettors in Nepal don’t need to be in the country because of digital means. Moreover, transactions can also be made internationally through different ways due to which it is difficult to find out about many such rackets,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashok Singh.
As per the Nepal Police officers, the department was in dire need to improve and upgrade the technologies since many major crimes were being committed digitally.
Every year, Nepal Police busts several betting rackets, with arrests of many, operating from the country over annual games such as Indian Premier League (IPL), English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
When special events such as Euro Cup and World Cup of football and cricket take place, such rackets are more active.
Similarly, arrests of Indian nationals alongside Nepalis in several such cases have also shown the possibility of common groups operating on both sides of the border.
In the arrests of 11 individuals of a betting racket during the IPL (2020) on May 25 from Kathmandu, six were Indian nationals.
“Online betting is not only illegal but can lead people to being cheated. We request public to not place bet over matches of the sports and inform the authorities if they knew about such illegal business,” said SSP Singh, chief of the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu.
Section 125 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 prohibits gambling and betting in Nepal.