Bhayandar: Tightening their screws against gambling activities, especially during Shravan as people tend to gamble in this festive period, sleuths of the local Crime Branch (LCB) unit of the Thane police busted a gambling den that was being operated from a lodge in Kashimira.
Acting on a tip off a police team from the LCB headed by Assistant Police Inspector- Pravin Kumar Salunkhe and Senior Police Inspector Vyenkat Andhale under the instructions of SP Dr. Shivaji Rathod and Additional SP Sanjay Kumar Patil, swooped down on a room located on the first floor of Shree Tirupati Lodging and Boarding (Laxmi Palace) located near the Dahisar check post in Kashimira at around 10:45 pm on Sunday.
Twelve people were found placing huge stakes on card games including teen-patti (flash)- a three card gambling game. All of them were apprehended. Besides gambling material, the police team seized cash amounting more than Rs. 37,000 from the accused who have been booked under the relevant sections of the IPC and Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act. This apart from slapping cases for violating the Epidemic Act and Maharashtra Covid-19 regulations police said.
However, as usual, action eluded the lodge owner and the manager of the establishment who facilitated the illegal activities but evaded the police dragnet while defeating the entire purpose of the stop-gap arrangements put in place by the district administration to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
The month of Shravan has begun leading to a rise in organized and unorganized gambling in the twin-city. Apart from hotel rooms and clubs, flats are being rented out to groups for gambling sessions which go on till the early hours, sources said.
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