Gambling den raided; 23 held

Hyderabad: Task Force sleuths on Friday cracked down on an organised gambling den in Warasiguda and took 23 persons into custody on charges of gambling. Officials seized Rs 7.6 lakh, the betting money besides 26 cell phones from their possession. The organiser Ch Gopal, 35, a businessman, was involved in betting on three cards, an offence under the Gaming Act. Acting on a tip-off, the cops conducted raid under the supervision of N Koti Reddy, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Commissioner's Task Force and arrested Gopal and 22 others – Harish Jain, V Srinivas, S Ravinder Krishna, K Srinivas, A Raji Reddy, M Chander, G Srinivas, P Lakpath Reddy, E Lachi Reddy, Ch Madhu, V Narsingh Rao, SP Babu, Bajarang Lal, Gajju Agarwal, N Anjaiah, B Mahender, B Bikshapathi, G Balu, M Dayakar Reddy, B Karunakar Reddy, S Venkatesh and S Ravi - from Boudha Nagar in Warasiguda. The accused along with the seized material were handed over to the Chikalguda police station for necessary action.