BHOPAL: This assembly election is turning out to be a nail-biter. The Bhopal satta bazaar that gave BJP a good chance three weeks ago is suddenly abuzz about Congress’ prospects.As per the bookies, till about a month ago, if a person placed a bet of Rs 10,000 on BJP, he would get Rs 11,000 if the party returned to power. And anyone who bet Rs 4,400 on Congress would get Rs 10,000 if the opposition wins.This week, bookies say, they are taking bets on number of seats and not on who would form the government. “In case no party gets absolute majority, or if the scoreline is too close,” explained a bookie. “We do not want to say which party will form the government. The bets are open. The satta market is running good this poll season, as it is a thrilling contest,” he added. Bookies told TOI that satta trends may not reflect the actual situation on the ground, but the market is accepting bets on 116-plus seats for Congress and 102 or more for ruling BJP. “Anyone who bets successfully on BJP or Congress will double his money,” a bookie said, adding that this trend may change just as suddenly in the next few days as campaigning gets more intense. The same bookie had told TOI around a month ago that rates may vary once candidates are finalised by the parties, “but we expect the trend to remain the same”.The satta market runs into crores in every election. Bets are placed not just over phone, but also on websites and apps, leaving almost no room for police to track down bookies and those placing bets. Probably, this is why no gang has been busted in the state so far for running an election betting racket. At least two cases of betting are registered daily in Bhopal, but the people pulling the strings of the racket in poll season are yet to be caught.Police officers say it is getting increasingly difficult to nab such gangs because they are constantly on the move. “Online betting can be operated even from a moving car, a café or any public place anywhere in the country. Those running the betting in Bhopal may be sitting anywhere on the globe,” said an officer.SP-south Rahul Kumar Lodha said a special campaign is being run against criminals involved in gambling and betting ahead of elections. “These criminals are made to sign bonds to prevent them from committing such crimes in the future. Raids are being conducted on specific tips. A list of habitual offenders is being prepared by police stations to curb such illegal activities,” he said.ASP-crime Rashmi Mishra said the crime branch has activated its network of informers prior to elections to keep an eye on betting.“It is difficult to crack online betting and gambling rackets, but police take action against criminals on specific inputs. For instance, we were tipped off on Monday night about a betting den in Kolar. It was raided but no such activity was found,” Mishra said, adding that the cyber cell is constantly on the lookout for websites and mobile apps used by betting rackets.

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