Sambalpur: Thelkoloi Police today raided a gambling den in Lapanga area in Sambalpur and apprehended 12 persons involved in betting activities.

Acting on a tip-off, Thelkoloi Police raided the house of one, Nirmal Behera, behind Chacha Bhatija Dhaba Hotel in Lapanga where gambling was going on with playing cards and chips by betting money.

During the raid, police managed to nab 12 accused persons from the scene and forwarded them to the court after registering case No-243 dt 3 10 22 U/S 314 of the Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act,1955 by Thelkoloi Police Station in this connection.

The accused persons are identified as Milan Sonkar (36), Dipak Sahu (45) Jayant Singh (42), Satya Prakash Kedia (40), Bipin Pasayat (49), Nirmal Behera (40), Sandip Pattanaik (50), Santosh Burma (39), Subhendu Sekhar Mohapatra (45), Kunal Majnudar (30), Saroj Kumar Sahu (35) and Swackrit Singh (24), all hailing from Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts, the police said.

The police added that about Rs 3.59 Lakhs in cash, playing cards, playing chips five vehicles,  and 15 mobile phones have been seized from the accused persons during the raid.