22 arrested in Hyderabad cockfight and gambling raid
Police said the organisers allegedly brought bettors from Andhra Pradesh and other areas and arranged cockfighting alongside card gambling.
India.- Hyderabad police have arrested 22 people following a raid on an alleged cockfighting and gambling operation in Manneguda, where officers seized cash, fighting roosters, knives and vehicles. The commissioner’s Task Force Shamshabad Zone Team conducted the operation with Adibatla Police at a premises behind the RTO office.
Police reported seizing Rs 3,60,510 (US$3,815) in cash, 31 live fighting cocks valued at about Rs 9.3 lakh (US$9,842), 146 cockfighting knives, 20 mobile phones and a score notebook. Three cars and three two-wheelers were also confiscated, taking the estimated value of the seized property to about Rs 35 lakh (US$37,040).
According to police, the premises was an old poultry farm that had allegedly been used to rear cocks for fighting. Organisers are suspected f bringing bettors from Andhra Pradesh and other areas and arranging food and facilities for the gambling sessions. Card gambling was allegedly conducted alongside the cockfights.
Police said the alleged main organiser and the landowner were not found during the raid and remain at large. The 22 people apprehended and items seized were handed over to Adibatla Police for investigation and legal action.
