Kerala Online Betting Scam Revealed: 3 Plus One Students Lose Lakhs; Ran Away Under Threat

A matter of an online betting scam surfaced in Thamarassery, Kerala, involving three Plus One students who fled to Bengaluru after being pressurised by individuals who had funded their online betting activities. The incident came to light during the counselling sessions held by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

During the counselling session held by the CWC, it was revealed that these students were involved in online betting with several adults allegedly financing them. After the teens lost huge amounts of money, they escaped to Bengaluru, fearing threats from the lenders.

As per the report published in Mathrubhumi, two of the students, who were also classmates and studied at the same coaching centre, initially claimed to have gone to Bengaluru and returned safely. Later, the deeper investigation disclosed that one of them had lost Rs 2.5 lakh in online betting, with financial transactions from at least 15 adults traced to his accounts. These findings are now submitted to the police by the Child Welfare Committee.

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Following this, another Plus One student from Thamarassery was found to have lost Rs 25,000 to online betting just days after the earlier cases. The student was later moved to the government Children’s Home in Vellimadukunnu for safety and rehabilitation.

Reportedly, authorities also traced information about these students’ visit to Bengaluru and are investigating their connections during the visit.

There are concerns that these students may come under further threats from the people who lent them money for the online betting.

(Note: Notably, Kerala continues to report a high number of cybercrime cases; following this, the state police has decided to shift the administrative and operational control of all cyber police stations to the Cyber Division Headquarters.)