The Amboli police have arrested producer and businessman Himalaya Dasani, husband of actor Bhagyashree, after his name allegedly came up in their investigations into a poker racket busted last month.
According to the police, the racket was busted in a raid conducted on June 11, where 25 people were arrested for allegedly organising and participating in an illegal poker game.
The game was being hosted in a flat in the Runwal Elegant building in Andheri and the police had at the time seized ₹3.25 lakh in cash, along with a large number of poker chips.
Investigating officers said that several of the accused who were arrested at the time named Mr. Dasani as one of the organisers of the game. “We further verified the information and arrested him on Tuesday after inquiries established his involvement,” senior police inspector Bharat Gaikwad, Amboli police station said.
Mr. Dasani was charged under the Maharashtra Gambling Act and was produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Andheri, where he was granted bail on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in a separate raid conducted on Tuesday night, the Amboli police arrested two accused for allegedly accepting and placing bets on the India vs. Bangladesh match of the ICC World Cup tournament.
The police said that the accused have been identified as Chandkishor Khanna (58) alias Mamaji and Ruchit Arora (43).
“We had received a tip off about the betting racket, which was being run in the Metropolis building in Andheri and raided the place at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, where we caught both the accused red handed,” Mr. Gaikwad said.
The police have seized four cell phones and four diaries with accounts of the bets, eight ATM cards from various banks, six SIM cards and ₹17,600 in cash from the accused, officers said.
