On the intervening night of September 6, 2020 and September 7, 2020, rural Pune Police raided a resort located in Mumbai-Pune Highway.
The police received a tip from an informant about the ‘gambling pit’ and raided the location with the support of another team.
According to police, Rs 3 lakh in cash and gambling chips with face value of over Rs 40 lakh were seized and 72 persons were arrested. Amongst these 72 people, 60 people were businessmen from Gujarat and 12 were women, hired as servers.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer for Lonavala Division, Navneet Kanvat in an interview with the Indian Express, stated that, “A gambling pit was set up at an assembly hall at the resort and card games were being played, where cash as well as gambling chips were being used. We arrested 72 people, including 60 men and 12 women. These men are businessmen from Gujarat and the women were hired as servers”.
Assistant Inspector, Vaibhav Swami told the Indian Express, “Along with the 72 people we arrested, we also booked the director and manager of the resort.”
The suspects were granted bail on Monday on production before Magistrate. They have been charged under various provisions of the Maharashtra Anti-Gambling Legislation and the Epidemic Diseases Act among other legal provisions.