Kolkata, Jan 6 (IANS): The Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate on Friday busted a racket selling fake lottery tickets under the logo of 'Jharkhand Lottery' in the coal belts of Asansol, Jamuria and Raniganj in West Bengal, and arrested 12 persons in this connection.

Confirming the development, the Deputy Commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, Sonawane Kuldip Suresh, said that on the basis of a tip-off, the police raided different markets in the industrial belt of West Burdwan district and nabbed 12 persons for running a fake lottery ticket racket.

"We are trying to trace the main brain behind this racket by questioning those in custody. We are also trying to track the route through which such huge quantities of fake lottery tickets reached these local markets," Suresh said.

Meanwhile, state police sources said that for quite some time now, the police stations in these areas were flooded with complaints of people being duped after purchasing fake lottery tickets.

"Investigation has revealed that these tickets were sold at a higher price of Rs 10 per ticket as against the actual Jharkhand Lottery ticket price of Rs 6 per ticket. The prize money quoted in the fake tickets was much higher than what is offered by the actual Jharkhand Lottery. This higher prize money lured a large number of people in the locality to purchase these fake tickets at a premium price," a local police officer said.

On Thursday, the officer said, separate police teams raided different markets in Asansol, Jamuria and Raniganj and arrested 12 persons in this connection. Huge quantities of fake lottery tickets were also seized.

The police suspect the involvement of an inter-state racket involving individuals from both West Bengal and neighbouring Jharkhand.