India Carried Out Anti-Gambling Operations in Advance of Diwali
Anti-gambling operations across India resulted in several arrests, seeking to curb the increase of COVID-19 cases during the Diwali Lights Festival that began on Sunday.
Different Gaming Sites Indian Police Search
During a weekend anti-gambling operation in the Nagaon, Dhubri, and Kamrup districts, the Guwahati Police detained 30 gamblers, just before the start of Diwali, the five-day lights festival that began on November 14.
Local authorities arrested six players in Kamrup's Chaygaon district, and two from Palashbari on Saturday.
Police commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta said several anti-gambling drives have been held in Guwahati, Assam state's largest city, Northeastern India. Although gambling and betting activities are always on the rise during diwali, police officers have been ordered to maintain strict vigilance at all vulnerable spots and hotels where gambling is ordinarily held.
Over the past ten days the local government has asked police to conduct multiple search operations,police Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Western Range, Bongaigaon Devojyoti Mukherjee said. During the operations in different areas of Assam's main cities, fifteen gamblers were arrested: Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Barpeta, and Goalpara. The DIG added that over 22 casino locations have been pinned down and evicted.
Gambling May Lead To An Rise In Cases Of Coronavirus
Locals said that gambling activities are not permitted without police intervention, particularly because most sites require small crowded rooms where players and watchers do not value social distancing steps.
NGO Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) - a voluntary organization - General Secretary Kailash Sarma called on the local community not to leave during Diwali, as this might lead to an rise in positive COVID-19 incidents.
“Gambling is a social menace and people should avoid it amidst the pandemic,” he said.
The Assam administration should concentrate on public knowledge and protect the vulnerable, who have been the most impacted by the pandemic's economic effects.
Politicians Arrested After Police Searches
Across India over a hundred gamblers have been arrested, reports say.
Salem Tabri Police detained 6 gamblers in Ludhiana on November 13, and seized Rs 1.27 lakh (about $1.700) in cash from a gambling den. Following a tip-off alleging a big gambling racket at Guru Nanak Pura's Talwinder factory, police went on a search that led to the arrests. Suspects have fled the scene but numerous inquiries have been conducted by the police to locate the gamblers.
In Dharwad 65 suspects were arrested during the searches of 18 gambling places, including political figures, traders, and hotel owners. At the sites, they confiscated Rs 49 lakh ($65,000), 34 vehicles and 66 cell phones.
Among the gamblers, four local police officers were identified amid threats from the police department not to gamble during Diwali, and were suspended. Police were tipped off that three-card players and Andar Bahar, one of India's most famous gambling games, were playing.
