1 2026:CGHC:22146 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 4079 of 2026 1 - Rohit Singh S/o- Chandrabhan Singh Aged About 26 Years R/o - C. S. 361, Thancha Bhawan, Tatibandh, Raipur, District - Raipur (C.G.) --- Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station - Ganj, District - Raipur (C.G.) --- Non-applicant(s) MCRC No. 4112 of 2026 1 - Vishal Kashyap S/o Late Vijay Pratap Kashyap Aged About 27 Years R/o - Satnami Para, Tatibandh, Raipur ---Applicant(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station - Ganj, District - Raipur (C.G.) --- Non-applicant(s) For Applicant(s) : Ms. Fouzia Mirza, Sr. Advocate along with Mr. Ahmed Ayaan Mirza, Advocate. For Non-applicant(s) : Mr. Vinod Tekam, Govt. Advocate, and Ms. Richa Sahu, Panel Lawyer. Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2026.05.21 11:25:12 +0530 2 Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J. Order on Board 11/05/2026 1. These two bail applications arise out of the same crime number, therefore, they are being heard and decided together. 2. These are the first bail applications filed by both the applicants. The applicant Rohit Singh in (MCRC No. 4079 of 2026) and the applicant Vishal Kashyap in (MCRC No. 4112 of 2026) have been arrested on 17.04.2026 in connection with Crime No. 110/2026 registered at Police Station Ganj, District Raipur, for the offence under Section 7 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act 2022, and Section 112(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and they are seeking regular bail. 3. The case of the prosecution is that on 13.04.2026, the police of Police Station Ganj, while patrolling, received secret information that a person is engaged in online gambling in a cricket match through mobile phones, and such person was present in his Honda City Car bearing No. CG04/NS/5007 at Nagorao Gali underbridge. The police conducted a raid and arrested co-accused Mandeep Singh, who was found in the said Honda City Car. On interrogation and search of Mandeep Singh, one mobile phone and cash amounting to Rs. 95,000/- were seized from him. In his memorandum statement, he disclosed that he was engaged in online cricket gambling through the betting app “3 Stumps” and that co-accused Babu Khemani was the owner of the said online book. Kamlesh Dewangan, who is the agent of Babu Khemani, collected the cash amount from the online gambling activities. He also disclosed that Karan Khemani, Brahmanand Khemani, Shrikant Sinha and Vijay Pinjwani, mobile Nos. 9893324707, 3 7044930036 and 7400930036, co-accused Amit Andani, mobile No. 9111555393, Harsh Nagdev, mobile No. 9526125220, Vinod Nara, mobile No. 9399898366, Akash, mobile No. 9826197555, and Rishikesh, mobile No. 9526125220, were engaged in online gambling from Pune, Mumbai and Goa and were running betting panels for IPL cricket matches. From the mobile phones of co-accused Mandeep Singh, ID transactions from mobile Nos. 917777991972 and 917777991752, and from the mobile phone of Babu Khemani bearing No. 447782207749, ID transactions were reflected. Transactions between Kamlesh Dewangan through his mobile number to Karan Khemani, Brahmanand Khemani and Shrikant Sinha through their mobile numbers were also reflected. The involvement of the accused persons in online gambling in IPL cricket matches was extracted. Thereafter, the offence was registered and investigation was started. During the investigation, the memorandum statement of Gulshan @ Babu Khemani was recorded, in which he disclosed the involvement of the present applicants, Vishal Kashyap and Rohit Singh, stating that they managed cash transactions in bank accounts. The accused Gulshan @ Babu Khemani also disclosed the manner in which they managed the affairs of online gambling, purchase of various properties at different places, and the involvement of other accused persons in their syndicate. The present applicants have been arrested on 17.04.2026, investigation is still going on, and the charge-sheet has not been filed. 4. Learned counsel appearing for the applicants would submit that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the offence. Except for the memorandum statement of Gulshan @ Babu 4 Khemani, there is no other evidence collected by the prosecution which connects the present applicants with the offence in question. The electronic evidence of mobile call details or money transactions through mobile phones is not sufficient to hold that the applicants are involved in online gambling along with other co-accused persons. There is no material with respect to the bank transactions to show that any amount has been transferred from or to the bank accounts of the present applicants. The applicants are in jail since 17.04.2026. The mobile phones of the applicants have been seized by the police, and no further custodial interrogation of the applicants is required. The final adjudication of the case will take its own time, as the investigation itself is not completed, therefore, the applicants may be enlarged on bail. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the submissions made by learned counsel for the respective applicants and submits that the allegations against the present applicants are that they are part of a syndicate which runs online gambling in cricket matches through the website “3 Stumps”, which is being operated by Gulshan @ Babu Khemani. The present applicants are managing the fund transfers obtained through online gambling in cricket matches. From the mobile phones of co-accused Gulshan @ Babu Khemani as well as the present applicants, sufficient material has been extracted which clearly demonstrates the involvement of the present applicants in the offence in question. The investigation is still going on and evidence is yet to be collected by the police. Looking to the allegations that the accused persons have formed a syndicate and are engaged in online gambling, and that their online gambling 5 activities are spread throughout various States of the country, like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa, the huge network of their online gambling operations, the number of accused persons who are part of their syndicate, the number of electronic gadgets which they are using for running online gambling, and the fact that accused Rohit Singh has criminal antecedents of the year 2022 of a similar nature of offence, they are not entitled to be released on bail. 6. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the material annexed with the bail application and also gone through the case diary. 7. Considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, considering the nature of allegation, the material collected during investigation, the memorandum statement of co-accused Gulshan @ Babu Khemani, and the electronic data extracted from the mobile phones of the present applicants as well as other co-accused persons, this Court is not inclined to enlarge the applicants on bail. Prima facie, the material available in the case diary reflects the involvement of the present applicants in an organized syndicate engaged in online gambling through the betting platform “3 Stumps”. The allegations against the applicants are that they were managing fund transfers relating to online gambling activities, and the investigation is still in progress. The fact that the alleged online gambling network is spread across various States, including Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa, involving several accused persons, multiple bank accounts, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. The nature of the offence and the manner in which the alleged syndicate is being operated indicate 6 organized criminal activity having various facets on society and the economy. Further, applicant Rohit Singh is also stated to have criminal antecedent of the year 2022 of similar nature. Considering the seriousness of allegations and the material available in the case diary, I am not inclined to release the applicants on bail. 8. Accordingly, the bail applications filed by the applicants, namely Rohit Singh and Vishal Kashyap, are hereby rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge Alok