Sleuths from the commissioner’s task force, East Zone team, on Wednesday arrested a doctor (a registered medical practitioner) and a businessman for betting on cricket. The cops seized cash worth Rs 17,000, a colour television set and three cellphones in their possession. According to the police, the accused, Dr Ch. Chandra Shekar, 28, and Mekala Siddaiah, 29, who runs a vegetable and flower business, were apprehended when accepting cricket betting amounts in Amberpet on the phone for the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) match being played in Bengaluru.
The doctor, who works in a private corporate hospital at Champapet, had thought this would be an easy way out of the financial crisis he was going through. He and Siddaiah planned to hand over the money they collected to the main bookie, Ch. Chandra Shekar at Yadagiri theatre, Santhosh Nagar, and then distribute the total amount to the winners after completion of the match.