© Provided by The Indian Express

Ahead of Diwali, Delhi Police arrested 29 people including seven women for their alleged involvement in gambling after raiding the banquet hall of a hotel in Punjabi Bagh in the capital early on Sunday.

Police said that over Rs 58 lakh and 10 sets of playing cards had been recovered.

According to police, they received information from a source on Saturday about “large-scale gambling” going on for the past five-six days at Hotel City West End on Club Road in Punjabi Bagh.

DCP West Ghanshyam Bansal said a police team raided the banquet hall around 1.30am on Sunday.

“When the staff reached the banquet hall on the first floor of the hotel, a total of 29 people were found gambling with cards on different tables and money lying in their midst. They were all apprehended. It was found that the hotel manager or owner charged Rs 2,500 per head for allowing the hotel premises for gambling activities and serving food and snacks. Further legal action is being taken against the management and staff of the hotel for converting the hotel into a gambling den. CCTV footage of the hotel from the previous days is also being analysed. Further investigation is underway,” Bansal said.

The accused included residents of Delhi and Gurgaon, said police, adding that a case was registered under sections 3 and 4 of the Delhi Public Gambling Act at the Punjabi Bagh police station.