Springdales boy, DU student held for running betting racket

NEW DELHI: A class XII boy from a well-known private school and a DU student ran a betting racket from a rented room in Lawrence Road, northwest Delhi, and made transactions worth Rs 1.82 crore during the World Cup, police said on Monday after arresting the duo. 

The accused, Harsprit Singh Walia (19), had just appeared for his class XII boards from Springdales school, Pusa Road, while his partner, Arun Sablok (20) is a first-year DU student. Both come from families with successful businesses. They were among 23 betting syndicates the police claimed to have busted during the World Cup. 

"Both boys started out as punters four years ago when Harsprit was in class VIII and Arun in 9th. They lost heavily. It was then that they decided to turn bookies. They got two 'dabba' phones from Rohini sector 16, rented a room in the Lawrence Road with their pocket money and set up the business," said additional DCP (crime) Joy Tirkey. Dabba phones are devices used by bookies to receive odds from Dubai and relay these to punters. 

One laptop, a TV set and six mobile phones were also recovered from them. Police said the duo had received bets worth Rs 27 lakh during the India-Sri Lanka match alone. 

"They told us that they feared getting caught operating from their own homes and decided to set themselves up in the rented room. The precision with which they went about their job showed they have inside knowledge of the trade," said a SIT team officer. Among others who acted as bookies were not only the usual suspects like businessmen, property dealers but also CAs and even a chief cameraman of a Hindi news channel. 

Three bookies were arrested from Vishnu Garden near Tilak Nagar. They had received bets worth Rs 30 lakh, police said. "Till date, 23 betting syndicates have been busted and 67 persons arrested. Bets received by these syndicates during the World Cup is estimated to be around Rs 15.14 crore," said an officer at the records branch in the Delhi Police headquarters. 

Police said heavy betting was reported from Rohini, Matia Mahal in the Walled City and Tilak Nagar, along with Dwarka and Bindapur in southwest Delhi. Additional DCP (crime) Sanjay Bhatia and P S Khuswah said almost all syndicates showed more than Rs 40 lakh transactions through hawala in just one session of play. "What adds to the problem are not the rates coming from betting sites in England, but those coming from Dubai through Mumbai and Jaipur through the dabba phones. In total, we believe over Rs 150 crore at stake in the NCR region," said a special unit officer of crime branch. 

"The betting takes places on basis of odds originating from various sources. After the match is over, profit and loss is calculated by a software, known as Back 'N' Lay Pro. The rates keep fluctuating with the fall of wickets and the runs scored. A laptop is used by bookies for data entry and management. Mobile phones are used for getting the odds, relaying these to punters and taking bets. All calls from punters are recorded," said Ashok Chand, DCP (crime). 

Chand said bookies used one set of mobile phones specifically for receiving the rates. "Apart from receiving rates on the phone, they also receive rates on internet using data cards. The data for betting is also maintained manually on notebooks as a back up," he said. 

A crime branch officer the department has sent its report on betting syndicates to the intelligence agencies. 

"Information on certain international calls that lasted for over an hour was sent to the telecom department. Some phone were also tapped on Saturday. As a result no rates came in through Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The intelligence sources said many bookies then switched to the Punjab channel, an entirely new route. However, many stopped taking bets after sensing the one-sided nature of the match and with rates swinging completely in India's favour by the end of the 30th over," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Springdales-boy-DU-student-held-for-running-betting-racket/articleshow/7870470.cms

Real or fake? Breathe easy, Team India lifted the right Cup

NEW DELHI: The nation had its mouth wide open in indignation, ready to yell "BETRAYAL" just as the clarifications started to come in fast and furious. Breathe easy, they all said, MS Dhoni had lifted the right World Cup trophy, not a fake one. 

Monday morning brought the chilling "news". The real ICC World Cup, claimed a newspaper, had been detained by Customs officials. Dhoni and his intrepid warriors had been given a dummy. Lending credence to the news were two facts - one, the 2003 trophy that Ponting and his boys held was different from the one with the Men in Blue; and two, a trophy had indeed been detained by MumbaiCustoms. 

So, did the Customs babus lose all their common sense and pull out some obscure list of duty exempted goods to deny our champions their hard-fought right to lift the original trophy? Was this yet another instance of suffocating red-tape cheating the players and the people of the opportunity to hold and behold the Real One? 

As the questions came angry and fast, the Customs department came out with a technical explanation. It said this particular trophy being carried into India by two ICC officials was not in the list of ICC goods exempted from duty; hence it was detained and duty was levied on it. However, the ICC said it would not pay and instead carry the trophy back to Dubai. 

Soon, the ICC came out with a statement clarifying that Team India had been given the right trophy, the 'recognized trophy' for the winners of World Cup 2011. It said the 'perpetual trophy' had been detained by the Customs. This 'perpetual trophy' was given to winners until the 2003 edition of the Cup. 

Australia, the 2003 winner, didn't like the idea of having to give back a Cup that it had won. Hence, said the ICC, a new system was devised. Both in 2007 and 2011, the 'perpetual trophy' was used only for promotional purposes and the winner was given a trophy specially made for that particular edition of the World Cup. No one had been cheated, said the ICC, nothing really had gone amiss. 

If the 'perpetual trophy' had no role to play, why was it being brought into Mumbai for the final? Was the ICC trying to cover up? Was it that, like many trophies, the 'perpetual trophy' was the running trophy, to be presented at the ceremonial award ceremony, and after the victory lap, taken back and a replica given to the winner? 

No, said ICC president Sharad Pawar. He insisted to TOI that the perpetual trophy was only for promotional purposes. In this case, it had been taken for display at the Colombo semifinal, while the other was at Mohali for display at the India-Pakistan match, he said. ICC Cup coordinatorDhiraj Malhotra said the same. 

A search of World Cup pictures of the 2003, 2007 and 2011 seemed to bear out the ICC version. The 2003 Cup is indeed different from the 2007 and 2011 trophies. 

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) also moved in by evening to clarify that the trophy had been retained by the Customs at the ICC's request. It said two passengers, Emma Waiteand Rixon Heyder, brought it in from Colombo as part of their "personal baggage". It was not part of the list of items temporarily imported by ICC and hence exempt from duties. ICC itself had written saying that the trophy in question was not to be used for any purpose inside India, said the CBEC. 

The Customs added that "in order to remove all doubts the concerned customs officers contacted ICC tournament director Ratnakar Shetty and enquired about the said trophy so that appropriate action could be taken expeditiously and the matter resolved." And Shetty wrote back saying, "We hereby request your office to hold the trophy in the customs warehouse at the airport until it is collected by the above passengers." 

However, Dhiraj Malhotra had an interesting twist to give to this baffling controversy. He said this 'perpetual trophy', now at a Customs warehouse, had gone in and out of the country several times during the tournament. "I myself carried it to Mumbai from Bangladesh after the inaugural match. So, I don't know why it was detained this time," he told TOI. 

If this was really the case, why did the Customs act this time? Was it sheer cussedness? Said BCCIvice president Rajeev Shukla: "How can the Customs people do this? There must be a relook at laws on international trophies and medals. How can there be a duty on them?" How indeed?

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Real-or-fake-Breathe-easy-Team-India-lifted-the-right-Cup/articleshow/7870210.cms