Surat: Seven gamblers who made it a habit to wager daily during the month of Shravan were arrested from a hotel in Surat with valuables worth Rs 2.14 lakh.
The Surat Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) raided a hotel in Adajan area and arrested seven textile traders for gambling.
PCB raided the hotel based on a tip-off about the ongoing gambling in room number 201 on the day of Rakshabandhan.
According to the police, upon entering the hotel they first met with the manager of the hotel, Prakanshu Mishra along with two witnesses, Shakil Kureshi and Bhaiya Patil. Mishra opened the hotel room with a spare key to help the police catch the accused in action.
Textile traders, Nilesh Jivnani, Kishor Tilvani, Gopi Lula, Murli Mulchandani, Jitendra Mulchandani, Sunil Dariyani and tobacco trader Chandu Lakhani were arrested with playing cards and cash. Police seized Rs. 85,240 cash and another Rs. 15,000 cash from the game. Along with it, mobiles of the accused have also been confiscated.
“All seven traders were an addict and would go to each other’s homes during Shravan for gambling. However, on Rakshabandhan, they had no place to go because of guests. They then rented a room in Adajan’s La Victoria hotel. We have arrested all seven under the gambling act and handed the case over to Adajan police,” said a PCB source.