India Raids Ex-Politician Gambling Den

A search by an ex-Indian Congressional Leader has led to more than 60 arrests. Madhya Pradesh Police swarmed the late Dharmendra Sonkar's home on November 7, arresting his brother and confiscating weapons and property.

The raid consisted of over 200 policemen who, for suspicion of operating a gambling den, went after Gajendra Sonkar, nicknamed Gajju. Police seized from his house Rs 7.5 lakh ($ 10,129 USD),17 guns and 1478 ammunition, including pistols, carbines, ammo, air guns.  

Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Siddharth Bahuguna said:

“The police came to know about illegal gambling from a house owned by Gajendra Sonkar. When police raided the house, 41 people were found to be gambling.

During the raid, the police also found a large number of weapons and ammunition, including carbines, pistols, rifles, in-country pistols, revolvers and air guns”.

Bahuguna noted that the Sonkar brothers would face other criminal cases too.

In either of the latest papers, how the Police learned Gajendra Sonkar was running a gambling den is not clearly mentioned. However in March of this year Gajendra's brother, Dharmendra, was shot dead. At the time, it was claimed that his killers had rivalry with him, since they were competing gambling den owners, so the family business seems to be very evident.

India has yet to control gambling across the country, though access to grey and black-market options is becoming increasingly simpler. Though some provinces are gradually seeing suspicious deals from China, other regions are still going for the old school gambling den as their unlicensed option for gambling.

As noted at so many events in the gaming industry, as long as gambling in India is illegal and unregulated, it remains an dangerous practice for so many, but one they will continue to chase. Now India may have shut down a small gambling ring in Jabalpur, but only after an ex-Congressman's murder. There is a still long way to go.