19 gamblers arrested; cash, vehicles seized

Berhampur: Police on Friday arrested 19 gamblers, including a teenager, from a forest area near BD Pur under Ganjam district's Jagannath Prasad police station limits. Over Rs 4.04 lakh in cash, two cars, five motorcycles, 18 mobile phone sets and playing card sets were seized from the place where the gamblers were gambling, police said. The arrested gamblers, mostly businessman, were from different places in Ganjam district, including Buguda, Polasara, and Jagannath Prasad. Acting on a tip-off about a gambling den operating in the forest area illegally, the police personnel in Jagannath Prasad, Bellaguntha, and Bhanjangar raided the area on Thursday night and busted the den, said Deepak Kumar Mishra, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Bhanjanagar.