Nagpur: Nagpur Rural Police have busted an alleged large-scale gambling operation at a farmhouse near Bazargaon, arresting 32 people and seizing cash, vehicles and mobile phones worth a total of ₹30.38 lakh.

The raid was conducted by the Local Crime Branch and Kondhali Police at Ambika Farmhouse in Panjra Govind Shivar, around 19 km from Kondhali, following a tip-off about an organised gambling session.

Police received the information at around 6 pm on August 21 and immediately formed a team under the leadership of Katol Sub-Divisional Police Officer Parag Pote. The team raided the farmhouse and allegedly found 32 people gambling for cash using a 52-card deck.

Police seized ₹16,07,700 in cash, along with a Swift Dzire, a Tavera and 32 mobile phones. The total value of the seized property has been pegged at ₹30,38,800.

All 32 suspects were detained at the spot and subsequently arrested. Police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the gambling law and are investigating the source of the money and the organisers behind the alleged gambling operation.

The accused have been identified as Omprakash Netran Thawale, Krishna Chatur Uike, Hitesh Dharmaraj Bhagat, Sunil Gopichand Bawane, Bhupesh Prabhakar Mane, Nehmichand Premlal Suryawanshi, Gurupal Suresh Dhunddate, Ganesh Ankush Perkunde, Ritesh Manohar Godbole, Saurabh Ashokrao Kursange, Sonal Suresh Shrirame, Rohit Dharampal Undirwade, Praful Avinash Ghode, Ayush Rajendra Tembhurkar, Om Naresh Deshmukh, Aman Sanjay Sahu, Afroz Firoz Khan, Alkesh Ashok Rajput, Hari Rambhau Hatgade, Sudhakar Phagoji Ghotmode, Ganesh Suresh Lacherwar, Bhavesh Digambar Thakre, Aditya alias Adi Govind Suryawanshi, Nilesh Sudhakar Meshram, Rohit Dashrath Samudre, Vikas Radheshyam Chandanbatwe, Sadik Irfan Shah, Mangesh Suresh Alone, Lokesh Dilip Jaiswal, Narendra Ramesh Giri, Rohit Suresh Shrirame, and Nandkishor Shahulal Gautam.

Police probe farmhouse gambling network

The raid was carried out by a team comprising Local Crime Branch PI Ankush Mane, API Rajkiran Madavi, Kondhali PI Sumit Parteki, APIs Roshan Bawankar and Sunil Thombre, and police personnel including Sandeep Rude and Amit Pawar.

Police are now investigating whether the farmhouse was being regularly used for illegal gambling and whether more people were involved in organising or financing the operation.

Kondhali Police Station in-charge PI Sumit Parteki is conducting further investigation.