Biryani baron among 14 arrested for gambling in Kolkata

The owner of a popular biryani and 13 others were arrested for gambling during raids at poker clubs in Kolkata, media reports quoted a senior police officer as saying on Sunday.

The anti-rowdy section of the Kolkata Police’s Detective Department raided two poker clubs simultaneously on Saturday evening (September 28) following a tip off, Joint Commission (Crime) Murli Dhar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

A report by The Indian Express identified the arrested biryani chain owner as Akhtar Parvez, who runs the popular Arsalan biryani chain in the city. He was caught red-handed while playing poker along with six others at a club on Camac Street, the police officer said. The board money amounting to ₹94,300 was also seized.

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The second raid, this time at a poker club on AJC Bose road, resulted in the arrest of seven other people while ₹90,000, poker dice and playing cards were seized, he added.

He further said that around 400 poker chips, a digital video recorder with a router, 12 packs of playing cards and documents showing transaction details of the accused with the gambling dens were seized.

“The raids were a preventive measure before the commencement of the festive season. Two different cases have been initiated at Shakespeare Sarani and Beniapukur police stations under sections of the West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competition Act,” PTI quoted the JCP as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)