27 cases registered, 100 persons arrested in gambling cases in last 1 year in Baramulla

Baramulla, Feb 15: The Baramulla Police have cracked a whip on gambling in the district and registered around 27 cases and arrested 100 persons in gambling cases during the last one year.

The action has been taken to curb the gambling activities to prevent people from using stake money in gambling which, according to police, is obtained by these gamblers through different means.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla Amod Ashok Nagpure said that besides launching an operation against drugs the Baramulla Police have kept a strict vigil on gambling activities in the district as well.

"Gambling is a social offence in itself. People may claim that it is a harmless activity, and they are just playing cards, but that is not the case. We need to look into its background," SSP Baramulla said. He said the people who play cards are not merely playing a game but indulge in gambling by bringing money with them.

"But we have to see that they are obtaining the money from somewhere, either by committing another crime, cheating someone, or stealing money," he told Greater Kashmir.

He said these gamblers might be acquiring money by physically abusing their spouse or selling their spouse's jewelry, or deceiving at home to obtain money.

"Our goal is to curb the other crimes associated with gambling. Therefore, we are working to control gambling," he said. The SSP Baramulla said the problem of gambling was not chronic in the entire district but their keen focus is on such activities in towns or tourist places.

"Wherever we find such activities going on, we take strict action against the people involved in gambling. The motive is to discourage the practice," he said.

SSP Baramulla said they are receiving good cooperation from the people of Baramulla to curb all sorts of crimes and other social evils.

"Accessibility to the public has been our prime priority and we encourage the officers to meet people and let people come to our offices and officers also visit the towns and villages and hold public interactions," he said.

He said Baramulla Police is trying to reconnect with the people and use their cooperation to fight the crime and these efforts have yielded them good results. "We are receiving a lot public support and feedback as well. If we do something good people appreciate us and if we fall bad somewhere then people bring it into our notice and it helps us to take corrective measures. It gives us the right direction," he said.