The Bilaspur Breakthrough

In a significant strike against the growing menace of online gambling in Chhattisgarh, the Bilaspur Police on Friday arrested two wanted bookies — Rajesh alias Raja Bajaj and his associate Pradeep Khatri — from a hotel room in Raipur, where the duo had been running an illegal online betting operation through the 'Ricky Panel' gaming platform. The arrests come after months of pursuit by the Anti Cyber and Crime Unit (ACCU) and the Civil Lines Police team.

What Was Seized

Acting on confirmed intelligence, police raided the hotel and recovered assets valued at approximately Rs 45 lakh. The seizure included Rs 6.90 lakh in cash, three luxury cars — a Honda City, Maruti Brezza, and Maruti Swift Dzire — expensive mobile phones, laptops, five bank passbooks, five chequebooks, a Honda Activa, and two registers containing detailed accounts of betting transactions running into lakhs of rupees. Documents related to more than ten bank accounts showing crores in suspicious transactions were also recovered and are currently under financial scrutiny.

Hotel Room as Headquarters

According to police sources, Raja Bajaj had booked the hotel room in a woman's name to avoid detection — a detail that emerged only after officers checked the hotel's register during the raid. Inside, both accused were found actively operating the online platform. The room yielded a full operational setup, complete with betting ledgers, SIM cards, and digital devices used to manage client accounts and wagers across the country.

How the Ricky Panel Operated

Investigations revealed that the accused ran their betting network through the Ricky Panel, through which clients were offered access to games including Aviator, Wingo, Casino, and Horse Racing — all carrying real-money stakes. Customers were recruited via Telegram channels, while WhatsApp numbers were used to share betting links. The profit-sharing arrangement was fixed: 65 per cent to the head office and 35 per cent to local operators.

The network was pan-India in scale, with agents on the ground across multiple states bringing in new customers and handling cash flows through a layered system of fake SIM cards and third-party bank accounts. Ordinary individuals were reportedly offered commissions to lend their bank accounts, which were then used to route betting money and launder proceeds.

A Trail Going Back to December

The chain of arrests traces back to 21 December 2024, when police nabbed a bookie named Manoj Poptani from Hemunagarar in Torwa, Bilaspur. During his interrogation, Poptani disclosed that he had been operating in coordination with Raja Bajaj and Pradeep Khatri. That disclosure set off months of surveillance and intelligence gathering, with Bilaspur Police placing a reward of Rs 5,000 on Bajaj's head after he went into hiding and kept changing locations to evade arrest.

Financial Investigation Launched

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajnesh Singh confirmed that for the first time in Bilaspur, a formal financial investigation has been initiated against a bookie. "A property worth approximately Rs 50 lakh in the accused's name has already been identified," he said, adding that further assets are being mapped for attachment. According to officials, the probe will cover the accused's complete income and expenditure trail to build an end-to-end case under asset recovery provisions.

Police Signal Harder Action

SSP Rajnesh Singh stated that the department's campaign against those running illegal online betting operations — and looting hard-earned money from ordinary citizens — would continue unabated. "We are now moving towards economic action against these operators. By tracing their financial trail completely, we intend to dismantle these networks at the root," he said, as per official statements.

The case underscores a wider pattern of online gambling syndicates operating across Chhattisgarh under the cover of gaming apps, using shifting locations and fake identities to stay ahead of authorities — a challenge that police say they are increasingly equipped to meet.