Staff Reporter :
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.