Six arrested for illegal betting

Kathmandu, May 29

Police have arrested six persons, including former footballer Anjan KC, for illegally running an online betting racket.

Other arrestees include Gaurav Tiwari, Dinesh Bogati, Nagendra Suwal, Bhupendra Kunwar and Bijay Shrestha. A special team deployed by Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, had held them from different places of Kathmandu valley.

SSP Bishwa Raj Pokhrel, Metropolitan Police Range in-charge, said the gang used to lure prospective gamblers into betting on international cricket and football matches on the basis of lose and win, wickets, and goals via smartphones and laptop.

Dawa Lama, an alleged gangster, is also involved in the illegal betting and has been absconding. Police said they were searching for other suspects, including Lama.

According to MPR, they were found to have used Rs 71.4 million for online betting on cricket matches by luring gamblers. Gambling amount ranges from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1.5 million per person.

Earlier, KC was arrested on the charge of match fixing in football and had been released on bail. Police said Tiwari was the prime accused of the online betting and had opened 24 separate accounts of an online betting site based in London. He is also an owner of 12D Cinema in Sundhara-based Civil Mall. SSP Pokharel said the suspects would be charged with illegal gambling and fraud. Betting on any sports event is illegal in Nepal.