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Local BJP leader among 7 caught for gambling in Pune, expelled from party
Pune police arrested seven for gambling, including BJP leader Audumbar Kamble, who was expelled from the party for the offense.
PUNE: A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was among the seven people caught gambling by the Pune police during a raid on a gambling joint run out of a tin shed in the Dhankawadi area, police said on Tuesday.
Police said the seven persons, including Audumbar Vitthal Kamble, 42, general secretary of the BJP’s Parvati assembly constituency unit, were booked under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“The crime branch took action against the accused in offences relating to gambling. In this case, the accused were served notices and provision of arrest is not there as per the law,” said additional commissioner of police (crime) Pankaj Deshmukh.
Police seized ₹10,250 in cash and other items, including mobile phones, from the suspects.
Following the police action, BJP city unit president Dheeraj Ghate announced Kamble’s expulsion from the party.
“Kamble was recently appointed secretary of the Parvati unit. After this incident, the local unit head expelled him. Such behaviour is unacceptable. In every meeting, we warn our functionaries and office-bearers to maintain party discipline and avoid any act that tarnishes their own image or that of the party,” Ghate said.
Apart from Kamble, police identified the other suspects as Sangram Dilip Bhosale (48), Mangesh Maruti Shelar (39), Yuvraj Nanasaheb Suryawanshi (38), Sagar Narayan Adagale (31), Bapu Laxman Patole (59), and Rohan Shekhar Londhe (32).
