Gambling racket busted in Banur, 10 women among 70 held

Blurb: Rs8.42 lakh, 47 vehicles, 40 liquor bottles seized

Tribune News Service

Rajpura, January 31

The Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of the Punjab Police busted a gambling racket in the Banur area here today.

The police arrested 70 persons, including 10 women, from a marriage palace on the outskirts of Banur. It also seized Rs 8.42 lakh in cash, 47 vehicles, 40 liquor bottles and laptops from the spot.

DGP Dinkar Gupta said forensic examination of the seized laptops and mobile phones was being conducted besides ascertaining further details about the accused.

Acting on a tip-off, raids were conducted on the directions of OCCU chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh on the intervening night of January 30 and January 31 at New Life marriage palace on the outskirts of Banur, towards Zirakpur.

The mafia was raided around a month ago also, but the accused were let off following intervention by some political lobbies. “Among those arrested this time is the son of a gambling kingpin who has been active in the Ghanaur and Rajpura areas from the past over a decade,” sources say.

An FIR has been registered under the Excise Act, Gambling Act and the Immoral Trafficking Act, besides Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC.