A MAJOR crackdown by the Bhopal Crime Branch has exposed the expanding network of gamblers operating within the city’s primary commercial hub, MP Nagar. Acting on a tip-off, police raided a high-profile gam bling den situated on the rooftop of a building in the Press Complex, leading to the arrest of 11 individuals. The operation reveals a worrying trend: busy commercial districts are increas ingly being utilised as ‘safe hous es’ for illegal activities. Commercial Rooftops: The New Illegal Hub: Police received uals with extensive criminal records from outside the city suggests that out-of-district offenders consider these commercial hideouts in Bhopal to be secure.

 

Interrogations indicate that similar illegal dens may be active at night across other rooftops or vacant offices in and around the Press Complex. Surveillance intelligence that a building rooftop in the bustling MP Nagar area was being used as a sys tematic gambling den. A tacti cal raid uncovered a high-stakes operation in progress. Authorities seized a total of Rs 4,21,800 in cash and decks of cards. Of the recovery, Rs 2.95 lakh was found directly on the gambling mat (fadh), while Rs 1.26 lakh was recovered during the personal search of the accused. A Hub for Inter-District Criminals: The profiles of those apprehended have shocked investigators.

 

The den was not merely a local haunt but a meet ing point for career criminals from several districts, including Dewas, Sehore, Ujjain and Shajapur. Key suspects identi fied include one Zardar from Dewas, who has eight prior crim inal cases, and Navin Sharma from Sehore, with four previous cases. The presence of individ Intensified: According to the ADCP Shailendra Singh Chauhan (Crime Branch), this raid is just the beginning of a larger crack down. The Crime Branch is cur rently using technical surveil lance to identify property own ers or managers who provide space for these activities or offer protection to the syndicates. Monitoring has been intensified across other major commercial zones, including New Market, Bairagarh, and the ISBT area, to dismantle this growing network of illegal gambling.