DEHRADUN: Pauri Garhwal district police arrested 37 people, including five women, for allegedly engaging in gambling at a resort in Rishikesh’s Ganga Bhogpur area on Friday.
According to the police, the arrests were made following a tip-off about “numerous people gambling” in the resort, which is owned by a well-known doctor in the town. This gambling activity had reportedly been ongoing for the past two days. Acting on the information, a raid was conducted late Thursday. It’s worth noting that the resort is situated in the same area where a receptionist was murdered last year by its owner and two associates.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Pauri Garhwal, Shweta Choubey, said that during the raid, the accused were found engaged in gambling inside the resort’s wellness centre. “Upon questioning, it was discovered that the gambling activities were organised by one of the accused, identified as Vishal, a resident of Haridwar. Those involved in the gambling operation hailed from Delhi, UP, and Haridwar. During the raid, the police also seized Rs 6 lakh in cash, 3,993 poker chips, 37 mobile phones, and six liquor bottles,” Choubey reported. She added that four individuals, including resort owner Dr RK Gupta, were booked. “The other three people booked were identified as the resort’s manager, Sahil Grover, the resort’s front office manager, Rahul Gupta, and Vishal Singh of Delhi. A probe is on to find involvement of other people, if any,” Choubey said. TNN