Two social media influencers, Dharmik Vagahani (20) and Deep Goswami (23), were arrested by the city cybercrime police on Sunday for allegedly promoting online gambling activities via their Instagram accounts, earning lakhs in the process.
DCP (Crime) Dr. Parthrajsinh Gohil briefed the media on Monday, revealing that the city’s cybercrime police social media monitoring cell had received intelligence about several influencers promoting links to online gambling websites and apps.
The accused reportedly earned around Rs 7,000 per promotional reel from individuals connected to these gambling platforms. They also received commissions whenever their followers registered and gambled using the links shared on their profiles.
During the investigation, police discovered that Goswami had 3.2 lakh followers and Vagahani had 9.54 lakh followers on Instagram. Both were actively creating promotional reels for these gambling platforms.
As more users signed up through their accounts, the influencers’ commission earnings grew, driven by the wins and losses of their followers on these platforms.
Initial probes show that Goswami alone earned approximately Rs 7.5 lakh in the past six months through such promotions and commissions. Authorities are investigating if this money was funneled into other illegal activities.
The cybercrime unit also revealed that those running the gambling platforms contacted influencers through Instagram and Telegram, offering them paid commissions based on the number of users they could bring to the sites.
Both influencers admitted to charging money in exchange for promoting gambling-related content. Their mobile phones have been seized for further investigation.
