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Their accomodation in Narayangaon, about 80 km from Pune city, was “worse than a hostel”. And many of them “wanted to quit and return home” but were stuck because their salaries, ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, were withheld.
A day after Pune Rural police raided and shut down a “residential BPO” that was involved in operating the illegal Mahadev betting app and another called Lotus 365, this is what several of its 96 employees have told investigators, The Indian Express has learnt.
Hailing from states as far away as J&K, Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, apart from other parts of Maharashtra, some of the employees said they had “responded to an advertisement” issued by the “BPO”. “A few of them had also worked with similar illegal apps in the past… All of them are under 30 years of age, ranging from Class 12 passouts to graduates,” police sources said.
Apart from three identified as minors, these employees are currently being questioned. On Wednesday, five of them were produced before a local magistrate who remanded them in police custody till Monday. The three minors will be produced before authorities on Monday.
Rajendra Kolhe, the advocate for the employees, said, “Of the 93 arrested, 88 have been sent to magisterial custody and can apply for bail on Monday. It seems they came here lured by salaries. They come from places where they wouldn’t get even Rs 5,000-7,000.” The “BPO” was operated by two local residents — Hritik Suresh Kothari (24) and Raj Bokariya (24) — who are on the run after the police raided their operations on the night of May 14. According to police, the two operated from Junnar in rural Pune, and Undri and Salunkhe Vihar in the city, before shifting to Narayangaon. “To remain under the radar of agencies, they seem to have frequently shifted their base,” said Pankaj Deshmukh, SP, Pune Rural.
Kothari and Bakoria hail from well-known families involved in the manufacture and sale of cooking oil in Narayangaon and Junnar. “They were educated there, locally. We are trying to determine how they came in contact with the app operators and how long they have been involved,” SP Deshmukh said.
When The Indian Express tracked down the “BPO” in Narayangaon, it found that it operated from inside the Vision Galaxy complex, a commercial and residential area that houses several other offices, mostly of private firms and a bank. The illegal operations were managed from a three-storey building in the premises that was rented from a local resident by the two main accused for a monthly rent of Rs 1.6 lakh two months ago. “We were told that an IT establishment would be operated,” said a relative of the building owner.
Sadashiv Gadhave, a security guard, said the employees mostly remained indoors. “I barely saw them outside. There was a security guard outside,” said Gadhave. “Two floors were used as accommodation for the staff with cooking areas. The third floor was a work area with 73 workstations — each with a laptop and a phone. The residential arrangements were very poor. There were some cots but most slept on mattresses on the floor,” said a police source.
“Some of them told us that they didn’t want to continue working but couldn’t leave because their salaries for April were not released,” Deshmukh said.
Of the two apps, Mahadev Online Book made the national headlines last year following a crackdown by central agencies.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the case relates to an online entity, allegedly run by Dubai-based Indian promoters, which provides virtual platforms for illegal betting on games such as cricket and football, and prominent events such as the various elections in India. It also facilitates several virtual card games such as ‘Teen Patti’ and poker. This illegal operation is estimated by the ED to have netted almost Rs 5,000 crore over the years.
The ED’s investigation is said to have revealed that players on these betting platforms have to deposit money in benami accounts that are shared online to participate. Payouts are also done using such accounts that are either opened fraudulently or are loaned for commission.
In Narayangaon, police said, the accused followed a similar modus operandi. “The staff facilitated the receipt of bet amounts from players to mole (benami) accounts and the disbursal of bounties to winners through mole accounts. Some of them had worked for these betting apps in the past and had travelled to Dubai as well. Some returned to their hometowns but did not find other jobs and were lured back into the illegal operation,” said SP Deshmukh.
