The police on Thursday were successful in busting a major Indian Premier league (IPl) betting racket active in the city and arrested a bookie and five others in connection with the case.
On a tipoff, the Big Bazaar police conducted a raid on a house in Patra Street and arrested a bookie and eight others who were involved in betting on the fortunes of teams in the premier Twenty 20 cricket championship in the country.
The police seized 5 lakh cash, 18 mobile phones and other equipments used for betting. The police had earlier got information that youths in the city were betting heavily in the IPl. In 2016, a number of IPl betting rackets were busted in the city, but in 2017 this is the first time a betting racket was raided by the police.