Police on hot pursuit of punters

Betting has been in practice in Saurashtra, including Rajkot, for a long time. It takes place in Rajkot during ODIs, but this time since the match itself is being played in Rajkot, the local police are taking special precautions to curb betting.

Rajkot Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha told Newsline that they are keeping tabs on every bookie earlier arrested in betting cases.

All the known bookies will be taken under preventive custody to restrict betting activities, he said.

He added: 8220;This time, we have put our officers at various mobile operator companies8217; offices and all mobile service providers have been ordered to keep a watch on all phone connections which has witnessed over 10 to 20 times rise in incoming or outgoing calls. Our officers will check the location of the particular suspected mobile number and inform our ground staff who will then investigate it further. We will also take printouts of the call record as documentary evidence.8221;

On being asked about the need for this advance monitoring, he said: 8220;After the increased usage of mobile phone in the betting business, the bookies have started operating from outside the city limits, which is out of the local police station8217;s jurisdictions.8221;

He further said that from the mobile phone network, they can easily map out the location of the bookies. 8220;We are finding out ways to curb criminal activities with the help of an advance technology,8221; he said.

These apart, the police have also deployed personnel in plainclothes to keep strict watch for any suspicious activity. Generally, bookies put up their people in the ground to know the latest updates of the match.