Actor Prakash Raj appeared before the Telangana government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Wednesday and later said sorry to the public. Officials questioned him about a case linked to the alleged promotion of an online betting app.
The Telangana government formed the SIT, headed by the Additional Director General of Police (CID), to investigate illegal betting and online betting app cases.
After the questioning, Prakash Raj spoke to the media and expressed regret, saying he was sorry that many young people had lost their lives because of betting. He explained that he had promoted an app in 2016, before the betting craze began, and stopped working with it as soon as he realized it was being used for betting. He also said he did not take any money from the company.
The actor mentioned that he had earlier met with the Enforcement Directorate regarding the same issue and that someone from the public had filed a complaint with the CID.
“In connection with that case, they called me for questioning. I explained that the app was banned in 2017. Back in 2016, betting had not started yet, and we promoted it, thinking it was just a game. Once we realized the truth, I stopped my association with it because betting is wrong. I gave all the details to the officials,” Raj said.
He added that the officials asked if he had worked with any other betting companies, and he said no. Prakash Raj emphasized that betting destroys young lives and advised youngsters to focus on hard work instead.
All forms of online betting are illegal under the Telangana Gaming Act of 2017.
