New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Delhi Police on Friday busted an illegal gambling racket operating near the railway line in the Delhi Cantt area and apprehended seven individuals involved in the activity.

The operation was carried out by a team of the Operations Cell of the South-West District, acting on specific intelligence inputs.

According to police officials, a total of seven gamblers were arrested from the jurisdiction of Police Station Delhi Cantt. The accused have been identified as Saleem Khan alias Raja (40), a resident of Bindapur; Jasim Khan (29), a resident of Dabri; Abhishek (22), a resident of Delhi Cantt; Sunny Kumar (40), a resident of Raghubir Nagar; Pawan (48), a resident of Delhi Cantt; Ramesh Chand (52), a resident of Delhi Cantt; and Md. Bashim (26), a resident of Mohan Garden, Uttam Nagar.

During the raid, police recovered the total stake money amounting to Rs 36,050, along with one flex chart, two ball pens, two notepads used for recording betting details, one calculator, and three carbon papers. All recovered items were seized as case property.

Police said that to curb organised crimes such as gambling in the South-West District, the Operations Cell had been directed to develop actionable intelligence regarding such activities and take strict action against those involved. Acting on these directions, the team intensified efforts by activating local informers and gathering human intelligence.

On March 25, the police received specific information that a person known as Raja, along with his associates, was running an illegal gambling racket near the railway line in Delhi Cantt. Acting swiftly, a team comprising Sub Inspector Ram Pratap, ASI Dharmendra, ASI Vinod Kumar, Head Constables Mohit, Bharat, Pradeep, Narendra, Devender, and Constable Sri Ram was formed under the leadership of Inspector Ram Kumar, In-Charge AATS/SWD, and under the supervision of ACP Operations Sanghamitra.

After verifying the credibility of the information through local inquiries, the police team laid a trap at the identified location. At the instance of the informer, a raid was conducted, during which seven individuals were found engaged in gambling activities using numbered pads.

A case under FIR No. 233/26 has been registered at Police Station Delhi Cantt under relevant sections of the Delhi Public Gambling Act, and all accused have been arrested.

During interrogation, the prime accused, Saleem Khan alias Raja, revealed that he had been running the gambling racket near the railway line for some time. Police records indicate that he has previously been involved in three cases under the Gambling Act registered at Police Stations Dabri, Bindapur, and Delhi Cantt. The other accused were found to be participating in the gambling activities with their respective stakes.

Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.

–IANS

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