SURAT: To make up for the financial losses following the retrenchment of her diamond artisan husband during lockdown, a 43-year-old woman started a gambling den at her own residence in posh Diwalibaug area of Adajan.
Crime branch sleuths arrested Ranjan alias Dimple Mehta, along with seven others who gathered at her apartment to gamble on cards. Cops also arrested the woman’s brother-in-law Dinesh Shah (55) and his son Varsad (26) along with other accused from the apartment on Saturday.
Police recovered cash and mobile phones worth Rs 79,721 from the accused.
The woman told the police that her husband Abhinesh remained jobless for several many months. “The family was facing severe financial crisis for the past one year. Recently, he got a job of diamond polishing but earns Rs 15,000 as monthly salary,” said a police officer, adding that the accused said that this meagre earnings was insufficient for them owing to one year’s financial crisis.
Accused Dinesh Shah, husband of Mehta’s sister, is a habitual gambler. He told Mehta that she can make money by providing her house for gambling purposes. She agreed and started inviting the other accused to gamble when Abhinesh was not present at home.
Shah runs a luggage shop in Varachha and used to invite his friends to gamble at the woman’s home. They used to gamble over playing cards. Other arrested accused are textile traders and diamond brokers. “We received specific information about the apartment being used for gambling. We caught the accused while gambling,” said police.