Khadki is a hotbed for gambling

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">PUNE: The lackadaisical attitude of the railway authorities has unfortunately converted Indian Army’s most significant railway station — Khadki - into a hotbed for illegal gambling dens. <br /><br />According to local residents, army officers and train passengers, the extreme Mumbai end of platform no. 4 (Army platform) at Khadki station is a favourite haunt for clamorous gambling sessions, rummy clubs and open matka rings.<br /><br />A spot visit made by TNN on Friday revealed matka bookies and gamblers unabashedly carrying out the "illegal trade" behind stacks of wooden sleepers of trains and army equipment at plat-form no. 4 of Khadki station.<br /><br />Despite repeated attempts made by TNN, Divisional Railway Manager Braj Mohan was unavailable for comment. While officials from the Khadki station master’s office which is a stone throws distance from the gambling den refused to comment. <br /><br />Passengers said there are 10 to 15 similar matka dens (known as pathada in Marathi) along Shivajinagar, Khadki, Pimpri, Kasarwadi, Daund and Pune railway stations.<br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Ram Naik, a resident of Range Hills in Khadki said despite regular complaints, the on-duty Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel have done precious little to crack down on the gambling den in Khadki. <br /><br />"Strangely, the gamblers have managed to get illegal electric connection from the railway station. The dens are teeming with activities till the wee hours of morning," Naik complained. <br /><br />A senior army official from the Khadki Cantonment Board said the matka bookies blatantly displayed the matka result charts on platform no. 4. <br /><br />"The railway authorities are not realising the gravity of the situation. Tonnes of ammunition equipment parts like cartridges, rockets, propellants and grenades manufactured at the Ammunition Factory in Khadki are dispatched to the Indian Army on a regular basis. The whole matka den is definitely in connivance with some railway officials," the army official said. <br /><br />Acknowledging the mushrooming menace of gambling dens inside railway station premises, RPF divisional commissioner Kamaljot Brar said there are 14 RPF personnel on guard at Khadki station. <br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><br />"Actually it is the GRP which looks after the law and order in railway stations. Nonetheless, I will direct RPF personnel to crack down the gambling den in Khadki at once," Brar assured. <br /><br />Brar said, a month ago, the RPF had busted out a similar kind of gambling den just behind the DRM residence near Pune station. <br /><br />Explaining the modus operandi of matka dens, an RPF official said matka bookies accept bets on the last digit of a winning lottery number. Those who lay bets are given receipts against payment. If a person predicts the last digit of the winning lottery correctly, he gets nine times the money he has bet.<br /><br />Pune Railway Pravasi Group president Harsha Shah said the RPF and GRP teams demolished the dens during their clean-up drives. "However, the dens emerge within hours due to the political influence. In fact, now a nexus has been forged between the railways and matka bookies," Shah alleged. <br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>