Maharashtra: Indian origin British national, aide arrested for IPL betting at Mumbai hotel

The police have arrested an Indian-origin British national and his aide for allegedly betting on an IPL T20 match from a luxury hotel, said an official on Thursday.

Acting on specific information, Unit-9 of the Crime Branch on Wednesday raided the luxury hotel in Andheri (West), where the two accused were found placing online bets on IPL matches through a betting site, senior police inspector Mahesh Desai said.

After collecting initial amount, the duo would provide user Id and password to the people interested in placing bets, he said.

The arrested accused were identified as Rishi Dariyanani (40) and Mahesh Khemlana (39), another official said.

Both are residents of Hong Kong, he said, adding Dariyanani, a man of Indian-origin, has British citizenship. The raid was conducted by a team led by inspector Asha Korake.

The team found Dariyanani and Khemlana were placing bets on the IPL match being played between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, the official said.

During their interrogation, it was revealed both had came to Mumbai only for betting purpose, he said. After the IPL began in March, they came to Mumbai and stayed in star hotels in suburban Juhu and Bandra, from where they operated, he said.

The police seized two laptops, seven mobile phones, one notebook, credit and debit cards, Indian, US and Hong Kong currency worth Rs. 6.95 lakh from the duo, the official said. Both were Thursday produced before a court, which sent in police custody till May 6, he said.

-PTI