Gurgaon: Illegal casino run by cop absconding in Gadoli ‘encounter’ case busted

The casino was being run from a house in South City 1. Forty three persons, including four women who worked there, were arrested

An illegal casino operated from a house in South City 1 was busted on Wednesday night by Gurgaon police. Of the 43 persons arrested for gambling, there were four women working at the facility. Ironically, the gambling den was being operated by a police constable, who has suspended in connection with the Sandeep Gadoli encounter case. The constable had been absconding for the last one year.

A casino table seized during the gambling den bust on Wednesday night. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Police said prime accused Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Jhajjar and a head constable in Gurgaon police, was booked in June 2016 along with three other policemen in the Gadoli encounter that took place in February 2016.

A senior police official confirmed that Singh was suspended and had been absconding in that case.

Singh along with his associate Kapil Batra, a resident of Sector 40, were operating the casino, police said.

The police also seized one countrymade pistol, and four live cartridges from Singh. He was carrying the weapon without any licence, the police said.

Gambling tables were kept in three rooms of the house in K-block of Sushant Lok 1 and an amount of ₹22.44 lakh in Indian currency was seized, along with 4 US dollars, 48 bear bottles of Budweiser brand, a cash counting machine, 210 tokens, four packets of cards and three laptops.

“A joint team of Gurgaon police was formed after receiving a tipoff and this house was raided late in the evening. 43 persons were arrested and a large amount of cash and items used in Roullete, Baccarat, and card games were seized by the police,” said Sumit Kuhar DCP crime.

According to the police, the information regarding the illegal casino operation came to Sudhir Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 40 police station, who shared the information with concerned officials. A search warrant and other legal documents were obtained and a raiding party from crime branch, police stations and nearby PCR vans were called in to cordon the house, said Ravinder Kumar, public relations officer, Gurgaon police.

Read I Gurgaon: Inter-state gang of robbers busted, 6 held

Police said when the raiding party entered the house, gambling was on in three rooms. While the women were serving liquor, one of the accused was operating gambling table. “When the team reached inside the rooms, the people inside were shocked and they tried to escape. However, as many as 43 persons were arrested from the spot,” Kuhar said.

In January 2015, the Gurgaon police had busted a casino operating from a house in DLF Phase 1 and seized ₹20 lakh. DCP east Deepak Saharan said that in that raid, too, 43 persons were arrested, including 5 women, who worked there. “The players had to pay a hefty fee to get entry,” he said.