With the IPl-2013 attracting the biggest players from all the top cricket-playing nations, the cloud of IPl Satta (betting racket) seems to be looming over this city with many eyebrows raised on the Satta bidders’ activities right from the first day of the IPl season.
According to informal sources of information, this betting racket is being run by first time IPl punters in Berhampur which many consider as part of the bigger racket, which is reportedly having its roots in Mumbai and other cities. Sources said lakhs of rupees are pooled in the sweepstake everyday which particularly focuses on raking in moolah (informal money of unknown origin) by betting on each ball, each over.
It is also reliably learnt that the bookies use to fix rate on every fall of wickets, say for instance, following the fall of the first wicket, they use to get Rs 500; similarly Rs 800 following the fall of three wickets; and so on. The tentacles of cricket betting racket during the current IPl have reportedly grabbed this Silk city with the numbers of crazy frustrated unemployed educated youths entering into the racket increasing day by day.
The modus operandi followed by bookies and Satta players during the current IPl match seems to be quite shocking and alarming. According to reliable sources, more than one counter is operating the betting in a clandestine manner in the city attracting mostly educated youths playing the role of active stakeholders.
An observer said the jobless youths having sky-high ambitions for leading a luxurious lifestyle by becoming rich overnight are falling into such gambling ploy. It is also learnt that some of those who lose betting resort to myriad crimes in the city such as chain-snatching, robbing, burgling and looting to compensate their losses which is a cause of great worry for the denizens, particularly senior citizens of this heritage city. These punters consider such crimes as the most viable and easy option for recovery of their lost amount, observe intellectuals.
According to a social activist, the cricket betting racket in the city is so widespread that its network has spread from betel shops to cycle marts and small retailers to cyber café in different strategic points such as central squares of the city. Senior citizens, who are worried about the deteriorating law and order, attribute the current increasing trend of chain snatching and burgling to the cricket betting racket.
There are several instances where in the cities like Indore, Mumbai, Chennai, Raipur and Kanpur the police have been proactive in nabbing the punters in recent past. It may be recalled that in a major breakthrough, the police busted two betting dens and arrested 15 people engaged in IPl Satta in Raipur in Chhattisgarah. Similarly, two members, including a BTech student, of a high-tech on-the-move cricket Satta racket operating from the Fazalganj area of Kanpur (UP) were arrested.
But unfortunately, no such tangible action by the police seems to have been taken yet to unfold the ongoing betting racket in Brahmapur, feel many. It is also observed that people both within and outside the racket are in tight lips and no one is prepared to speak about the racket in the city apprehending police action against the informer.