5 housewives among 144 arrested for illegal gambling
The Social Service Branch of the police raided a club and arrested 144 people, including the five housewives and staffers, under various sections of gambling acts, reports Shahkar Abidi.
Five housewives from Borivli decided to ditch the saas-bahu and instead, after finishing their chores, these middle-aged women went to their neighbourhood club to gamble.
But their luck gave out on Tuesday, after the Social Service Branch of the police raided the club and arrested 144 people, including the five housewives and staffers, under various sections of gambling acts.
The raid was conducted at Alankar Club after the police received complaints from local residents, who alleged that the club was hosting gambling though it is registered as a social club — meant for providing entertainment to the public.
“Our personnel went to the club as dummy customers and saw that customers were openly gambling by playing rummy,” said Senior Police Inspector Raju Joshi of the Social Service Branch. They then confirmed the tip-off to other policemen waiting outside and the place was raided, said the police. The police recovered cash worth over Rs 6.66 lakh from the club.
Of the 144 arrested, 119 were customers and the rest were staff members of the club. The police were surprised to find that of the 119 customers who were arrested most of them were middle-aged and elderly men and women who gambled only to get x of boredom.
Officials who conducted the raid said the arrested customers were from middle-class and upper middle-class.
“During questioning, we learnt that most of them had become addicted to gambling and spent most of their time at the club,” added Joshi. An official on condition of anonymity said the club employed expert jockeys who made the customers win big amounts.
“But it’s the addiction and the hope of winning that always pulled them back to the club,” added the official.