NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has so far arrested 42 people from or around the Arun Jaitley Stadium for alleged gambling, cheating, black marketing of tickets, creating ruckus and molestation during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.
According to police, they registered six cases during six matches from April 4 to May 14 – the cases were registered on the next day of the matches.
“On the very first match at the stadium on April 4, as many as 25 people were held from different stands for running an online betting racket. They were giving ball-by-ball information to their associates using different betting software,” an officer said.
The officer added that some people were selling tickets in black at an exorbitant price to tourists . Therefore, in a trap laid on April 11, three people – Piyush, Mohammad Nasim and Tarun Kumar – were arrested from around the stadium.
In another match on April 20, two people were caught gambling near gate numbers 15, 16, and 17 of the stadium. Similarly, four people were caught for betting on April 29.
On May 13, a 55-year-old man and his two sons were arrested for allegedly misbehaving with other spectators. They were booked under charges of molestation, voluntarily causing hurt and other IPC Sections.
DCP (central) Sanjay Sain said, “Our teams in plain clothes and uniforms were deployed inside and outside the stadium to keep a tab on those who created ruckus or were involved in any kind of illegal activity.”
Sain added that they have also made arrangements to ensure that no protests occur around the stadium. “On Saturday, there were claims that we had stopped some people from entering the stadium. It was all fake, only those who had passes were allowed. The situation was handled peacefully and no untoward incident took place,” he added.
Police also detained 49 people under Section 65 of the DP Act. “They were involved in creating ruckus or were detained on suspicions that they may have entered the stadium illegally. An enquiry was conducted and they were allowed to go only after the cops were satisfied,” the officer said.