Matar BJP MLA, 25 others held for gambling in resort

Vadodara: BJP MLA Kesarisinh Solanki from Matar constituency in Anand district and 25 others were arrested by the Panchmahal police in connection with a gambling party at a resort near Shivrajpur village.
Liquor was also found on one of the arrested accused during the raid and a seperate offence was registered regarding the seizure.
Police had received a tip-off that a large number of persons had gathered for gambling in the Jimira Resort near Shivrajpur. On raiding, police found people gambling in five rooms in the resort. The group included Solanki.
Cops got to know that the rooms in the resort were booked by one Harshad Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad. Sources said that the remaining people were called to gamble by Patel.
The group included seven women who were called to work as dealers on the gambling tables or perform similar tasks.
“People involved in gambling included those from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara and Anand. The seven women held at the site included four from Nepal, two from Surat and Patel’s wife,” said a senior police official.
Panchmahal crime branch police inspector D B Chudasama said that Patel used to hold trips to Goa for gambling as there were casinos there. However, the casinos were not working due to Covid-19 and hence Patel organized the gambling party in this resort. He used coins like those used in casinos and kept accounts in books.
Chudasama said that two cottages that were secluded and not clearly visible from the outside were used for gambling. Patel and Solanki had been in touch with each other.
The MLA denied involvement in gambling said that he had come to visit Pavagadh and stopped over at the resort where he was caught. Cash amounting to Rs 3.89lakh, 25 mobile phones, one laptop and eight cars were seized during the raid. The total value of the the seizure is valued at Rs 1.15crore.
Solanki (43) had won on a BJP ticket for the first time in a byelection in 2014 after the Matar seat fell vacant as Devusinh Chauhan, the sitting MLA then, won the Lok Sabha polls. Solanki got the ticket again in 2017 and won again. He had drawn a lot of attention when arrived to vote nin an ambulance in thhe recent Rajya Sabha polls.