MUMBAI: A horse-cart race racket was busted in Vasai on Saturday, and 16 men were arrested, by the local crime branch in Palghar. The police seized 14 horses, seven carts, a truck and cash, collectively worth Rs 22 lakh.
Acting on a tip off, the police raided a ground behind a hotel on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway at Vasai. People from Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts were there, and had placed bets on the races.
A total of 16 men, including organisers and participants, who were booked, also have cases of gambling registered against them in several other police stations. The rescued horses were sheltered at an animal farm in Sakwar, Virar. The police are ascertaining the details about the horses’ owners. They suspect that the horses were given to the organisers of the races on rent. The Vasai races are believed to have taken place at least two times previously, before they were busted on Saturday.
Acting on a tip off, the police raided a ground behind a hotel on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway at Vasai. People from Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts were there, and had placed bets on the races.
A total of 16 men, including organisers and participants, who were booked, also have cases of gambling registered against them in several other police stations. The rescued horses were sheltered at an animal farm in Sakwar, Virar. The police are ascertaining the details about the horses’ owners. They suspect that the horses were given to the organisers of the races on rent. The Vasai races are believed to have taken place at least two times previously, before they were busted on Saturday.
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