The arrested persons at Patliputra police station in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, May 27: A drunken brawl at Nehru Nagar last night drew attention of a police patrol team that picked up six persons for indulging in betting during the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.

A manhunt has been initiated to trace the kingpin, who, police suspect, is a seasoned bookie. Four cellphone sets, Rs 16,700, some documents related to the IPL and the IPL VI schedule were recovered from the six — Vipin Kumar, Neeraj Kumar, Gaurav Kumar, Vikas Kumar, Amit Kumar and Dheeraj Kumar.

The police are yet to confirm whether spot-fixing was going on as evidence suggests it to be a betting racket only. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have learnt that the kingpin dragged the arrested six into betting. We have identified the man,” said senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaj.

“Prima facie, it appears that Amit, the owner of Geeta Decorator Catering and Electronics, and Gaurav Kumar, the owner of Abha Sweet House, are leaders of this group. They were in constant touch with their senior over cellphone,” an officer of Patliputra police station said.

Sources said Amit had placed Rs 5,000 for a Chennai Super Kings win in the IPL final. “Dheeraj had placed Rs 12,000 for the same team. According to their statement, they were promised Rs 1,300 for investing Rs 1,000 in the bet. With Dhoni’s team losing quick wickets, one of the six, who was drunk, poked fun at the Chennai outfit, resulting into a heated altercation. A police patrol team chanced upon them and took them into custody around 10.50pm,” said an investigating officer.