Zirakpur becoming a hotbed of gambling

Alkesh Sharma, TNN MOHALI: Zirakpur, which is considered a gateway to the city and to Himachal and is in close proximity to both the railway station and the airport, is gradually becoming a safe haven for gamblers, who head for it from places as far as Amritsar, Jalandhar and even Delhi. The mushrooming of many low-budget hotels in Zirakpur is also providing a secure refuge for gamblers, who indulge in "satta" on cricket and football and are even involved in online betting. Three days ago, police had arrested ten high-profile gamblers from a Zirakpur hotel, Nest, and had recovered around a dozen mobile phones -- that were being used in conducting their 'business' -- and around Rs. 3.50 lakh from their possession. Earlier too, police had arrested gamblers from a Zirakpur hotel during the IPL season. "Working on a tip-off, we laid a trap and arrested 10 persons on Sunday. They are from different towns of Punjab including Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala. They are all high-profile businessmen working in various fields including real-estate, besides agriculturists. Some even own petrol pumps. We recovered around Rs. 3.50 lakh cash from their possession," said Trilochan Singh, station house officer of Zirakpur, around 10km from Chandigarh. He added, "Earlier also we have arrested many gamblers, who were indulging in betting on cricket and playing "satta." Though it is a bailable offence, we are keeping a tab on the activities of the accused and have also put their phones under surveillance." A few weeks ago, Chandigarh police had busted an inter-state gang of gamblers, who were running this illegal business from Zirakpur. "Gamblers from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana are using Zirakpur as a meeting point. They don't mind driving four to five hours to reach here. They remain in touch with each other through e-mails and then rent easily available hotel rooms here to run their activities," said a senior police official of Mohali.