Indian authorities are cracking down on all of the small-time gambling rings they can find. A pair of raids in the last week helped put an end to a couple of gaming operations, arresting both the organizers and the gamblers present, and rescuing a whole bunch of cocks.
On August 20, police arrested three alleged gang members, Gagandeep Singh, Raj Kumar Raju and Sukhwinderpal Singh Sehgal, in Ludhiana, a city in the state of Punjab. Two more members of the gang are still being sought out. In total, rs 2.6 lakh (nearly $3,500) was confiscated.
The gang had fake permission letters indicating they were allowed to run skill games at their farm house. Exactly what gambling activity was being conducted hasn’t been specified, the authorities allege that even when gamblers won, the suspects didn’t really pay out.
Another raid in Hyderabad saw 19 arrested for gambling on rooster fights. Bibinagar police raided a farm where Rs 1.5 lakh ($2,000) was confiscated.
In a gruesome video by the Times of India, police show the eight dead roosters found on the scene. Along with the confiscated money, police also rescued another 32 roosters, and brought in 60 knives, 14 cars and 30 bikes.
Authorities note that as many as 50 people were participating in the cock-fighting when they arrived on the scene. But when they realized the jig was up, many fled before police could apprehend everyone, including the three alleged to have organized the gambling ring.
India has been doing everything it can to crack down on these small-time gambling rings. In April, drones that were put into use to monitor Covid-19 lockdown measures helped discover a gambling ring being conducted on a roof top, away from the prying eyes of patrolling police officers.
With gambling still sitting in a legal gray area in most of India, Indians are proving that, legal or not, they just want to gamble. While some can’t stay away from these small time options, many are turning to online play during the pandemic, with casinos reporting healthy incomes.
