Nagpur: Acting on a tip-off, the Crime Branch Unit-III busted an illegal online lottery and gambling racket operating in the Shantinagar police station limits and arrested two young men allegedly involved in conducting betting activities through a government-banned online lottery platform.

According to police, the raid was carried out on June 8 at Chakna Chowk in Lalganj after Crime Branch officers received credible information that gambling activities were being conducted openly under the guise of an online lottery operation.

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A team from Crime Branch Unit-III conducted a raid in the presence of panch witnesses and caught the accused allegedly accepting money from customers and facilitating betting on online lottery games involving wins and losses.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sachin Dileep Rahangdale (21), a resident of Navin Nagar near Bhawani Mandir, Pardi, and Aniket Moreshwar Wakalkar (21), also a resident of Navin Nagar, Pardi. Police said the duo was allegedly running the operation in collusion with another accused, Sagar Liladhar Dhanjode, who is currently wanted in the case.

Investigators alleged that the accused were operating the gambling setup for financial gain by collecting cash from participants and placing bets on a prohibited online lottery network.

During the raid, police seized cash and electronic equipment used in the operation. The recovered material included seven gaming machines, computer monitors, a printer, scanner, CPU units, keyboards, two mobile phones and other accessories. Cash amounting to Rs 1,830 was also recovered from the spot. The total value of the seized property has been estimated at Rs 2.93 lakh.

A case has been registered against the accused at Shantinagar Police Station under Sections 4 and 5 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act. The arrested accused have been handed over to Shantinagar Police for further investigation and legal action.

Police are now probing the extent of the gambling network, the role of the absconding accused and whether the operation had links to a larger online betting syndicate.