Police caught 51 gamblers

Shimla, Mar 30 – The district court round has acquitted 51 named gamblers. The Additional Sessions Judge, Shimla, has allowed the appeal of the accused, setting aside the trial court’s order. The lower court had sentenced all the accused to sit in court till the proceedings of the court and fined Rs.100 each. This decision was challenged by 18 accused in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Shimla through an appeal.

According to the case, on October 16, 2014, at nine o’clock in the night, police station Chaupal had received secret information that some people were gambling in the under-construction house of local resident Rajendra Thakur. A team of nine police personnel went to the spot and nabbed 51 accused with three decks of playing cards and Rs 1.26 lakh in cash. After the investigation of the case, the prosecution was launched against the accused in the court of Judicial Magistrate Chaupal.

The trial court convicted all the accused for gambling. During the hearing of the appeal, it was argued on behalf of the accused that an attempt has been made by the police to trap them. The room from where the police caught him is only 10 x 12 feet. So 51 people in a room cannot gamble together. The court, on perusal of the records related to the case, found that the police did not involve independent witnesses in the search of the house as per rules.

The court found that the police deliberately did not write anything about the size of the room in the investigation. It appears that the police is trying to hide something about the size of the room. The accused cannot be punished on the basis of discrepancies in the police investigation and contradictory statements of the police. The court allowed the appeal of the accused, setting aside the trial court.