Police raid gambling dens in district

Tribune News Service

Advertisement

Patiala, March 19

In a crackdown against illegal gambling and ‘satta’ operators in the district, the Patiala police have registered a single FIR against many kingpins who were running illegal gambling operations. Majority of illegal gambling mafia are backed by henchmen of local leaders.

“A district-wide crackdown on illegal gambling clubs was ordered following persistent complaints from women. Besides complaints of nuisance, drunken brawls and late-night gatherings, there were also specific instances of how families got ruined due to gambling,” said the police. “Usually, local politicians back the mafia and interfered every time there was a crackdown,” the police said.

As a rough estimate, each illegal gambling hub makes roughly Rs 50,000 per weekend, while on weekdays they are richer by half this amount. “This is a big trade where many persons in the garb of being politicians are involved. The money is good and cash flow makes it the easiest way to earn money,” said a policeman.

Meanwhile, the police have sealed illegal gambling units at Patran, Samana, Rajpura, Tripuri, Bhadson Road, Bus Stand, Chotti Baradari and Rajpura town.

In the recent FIRs clubbed as one registered at the Tripuri police station, the police have named kingpins Rajkumar, Inderjit Singh, Inderjeet Singh, Parveen Kumar, Sunir Verma, Bobby Kabarhiya, Samanjit Singh, Sunny Kumar, Harish Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Mahinder Singh, Rajesh, Amit, Inder Kumar, Amarjit Singh, Mahinderpal, Kala, Rinku Mehta, Ashok Mehta and others.

A FIR under Sections 420 of the IPC and various sections of the Gambling Act has been registered against the Tripuri police station.