INDIAN GAMING STATESIDE
Gujarat: Father kidnapped by gamblers after son loses INR 5 lakh in online gambling
Illegal gamblers running an online gambling racket abducted the father of a gambling addict named Kevin, who took a loan of Rs 5 lakh from them and lost it all on online gambling. Kevin’s father, Ratibhai Jivanbhai Manavadaria,
owns a plastic factory and lives in Vraj Apartment on Adarsh Street near Trambadiya Chowk in Upleta. The father was kidnapped to extort money from the son, who lost it on online gambling. According to the report from Zeenews, the
kidnappers picked up Manavadaria near a veterinary clinic on Kolki Road in Upleta in a black car. Manavadaria was later beaten up near a hotel in Supedi village of Dhoraji taluka on the Porbandar National Highway. The individual has filed a report of physical violence against the kidnappers, identified as
Kamleshbhai Bharai, Vivek and an unknown person. After the police started the investigation of the case, there was a shocking revelation. The kidnappers are also challenging and threatening the police. The authorities have been unsuccessful in taking
down the online gambling establishments operating under the name of Yantra in various towns and cities
Assam: Ex MLA, richest man in state arrested on gambling charges
For participating in illicit gambling activities, cops in Assam arrested former MLA Naren Sonowal on Thursday, March 16. Sonowal also served as the Naharkatia constituency’s previous legislator and was one of the wealthiest candidates running for the Assam Assembly elections in 2021. Sonowal, who reportedly holds assets worth INR
33 crore, was one of the wealthiest candidates running for the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, said the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). Naren also disclosed his INR 33 crore worth of assets when running for the Assam Assembly in
2016 where he was elected to the assembly from the Naharkatia constituency in 2016. Along with Sonowal, the police has also arrested
six more people related to the same case, including the former Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) MLA and other five small-timers from Boiragimoth area in Dibrugarh. All the individuals are arrested under Section 16
of the Assam Game and Betting Act, according to Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Shwetank Mishra, who spoke to India Today. “Based on specific input, we conducted a raid at a
house in the Boiragimoth area late on Thursday night and managed to arrest a total of seven persons who were found to be involved in illegal gambling activities,” said Raju Bahadur Chetry, the officer in-charge of Dibrugarh police station. During the raid, police found a significant number
of goods used in gambling as well as INR 96,500 in cash. Police also confiscated two motorbikes and a vehicle that belonged to the suspects.
Cops issue lookout notice against Wolf777 owner Rakesh Rajdev
The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has reportedly issued a lookout notice against self-proclaimed ‘social worker’ Rakesh Rajdev alias Rakesh Rajkot or ‘RR’ in an INR 1400 crore cricket betting racket. Rajdev allegedly runs a vast betting network
through various agents and bookies across the country through various locations through dummy companies and network of agents and middlemen. Earlier in February, the Ahmedabad crime branch had uncovered this big racket and registered an FIR against RR and his associates Chetan Patel alias Tommy Unjha, Khanna Asif alias Ravi Hasmukh Patel, Karmesh Kiritbhai Patel, and Harikesh Pranav Patel amongst others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating and fraud. The cops also traced 11 bogus firms and 12 bank
accounts used for receiving and transferring and laundering money generated through illegal betting transactions. As a follow-up to the probe, cops have
now reportedly issued a lookout notice to nab and arrest RR and Tommy Unjha if they are found to be travelling through any airport in India or otherwise found at any other location within the country. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also said to be probing the money trail of Rajdev’s betting racket and various hawala transactions that RR and his associate through various shell companies and hawala operators have been indulging in over the last several years. RR who on his social media platforms and
websites claims to be a ‘social worker’ and hotelier with business interests in Gujarat and Dubai is in reality a betting kingpin with a history of many cases against him but nonetheless, enjoys an openly gilded lifestyle in Dubai without any fear of action from Indian investigative agencies. RR operates a big online betting ring through various skins and platforms with annual turnover worth thousands of
crores. Some prominent betting platforms being run by him include ‘Wolf77’ and ‘Diamond Exch’. Rajdev’s Wolf777 has been splurging heavily on
advertisements, openly promoting the betting brand and its surrogate news website on digital and media platforms as well as sponsorship of prominent cricket teams, despite the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s two recent advisories asking news platforms to desist from showcasing such advertisements. The central government recently blocked over 138 domain names of illegal offshore betting and gambling website but Wolf777 does not figure in the list and continues to operate with impunity. It remains to be seen whether law enforcement agencies will make a concerted effort to permanently curtail illegal betting platforms such as the ones operated by RR and his minions or whether the investigation will fizzle out in due course.
APRIL 2023 21
of the Rajkot district. While investigating the kidnapping case, the police uncovered another gambling ring. While the police are working on these illegal online gambling groups, offline gambling is also prevalent, with two arrested in Vadodara after they were caught betting on the India-Australia one-day cricket match. The police seized Rs 5 lakh from the raid and
arrested Vishnu Kachhia and Zakir Ghansi. The raid was done after the police received a tip-off about the two gathering in front of Sangam Hotel and betting on the cricket match. During the interrogation, both gamblers revealed
that Gopal Vanand, Ravi Shah and Hitesh Waria were also involved with them. The police are currently on the lookout for them.
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