Cop and former NCP corporator arrested

A police officer and a former NCP corporator have been arrested over their alleged links to an illegal gambling club in Mundhwa area. The arrests took place after a team from the Pune City Police raided the club, operating on the premises of Kapila Matrix building in Mundhwa, in the early hours of Saturday.

Police have booked 41 persons, including Police Inspector Vijay Jadhav and Avinash Jadhav, the alleged owner of the gambling club and a former NCP corporator. Some of the other accused in the case are A R Bansode, Soniya Bansode, Solomon Bansode, Surat Kusalkar and Rishi Nagpal, among others.

When police reached the club on Saturday morning, the policemen had to break open its doors to enter the premises, as per a press release by Pune City Police.

Police found 41 persons gambling at the club, including Inspector Jadhav from the Baramati police station, stated the release. They also found a game of ‘three card gambling’ in progress. Police said the club had an advanced security system, and patrons were allowed to enter it only after getting their membership cards and fingerprints scanned. Several CCTV cameras were also installed inside the club.

It is suspected that cash transactions often took place in the club, said police, adding that they have seized some cash, a cash counting machine and poker chips from the spot. The ‘gamblers’ were given poker chips worth Rs 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 25,000, said police.