Godhra: A court at Halol in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district on Wednesday sentenced a sitting BJP MLA and 25 others to two-year imprisonment in a gambling case.
Citing the verses from Quran and Gita, the judge said that gambling is prohibited in both religious books. The act of the MLA from Matar Assembly constituency, Kesarisinh Solanki cannot be taken lightly as instead of fulfilling his responsibility of serving the society and preventing the illegal activities, he was found indulging in the crime, the court added.
While pronouncing the order, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Prem Hansraj Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on each convict. The court ordered to cancel the license of the resort, where the accused were caught gambling.
Documentary evidence
It observed that the prosecution has proved the case beyond doubt based on documentary evidence, CCTV footage seized from the resort, and statements of the witnesses. It has been proven that Solanki and 25 others were gambling for their financial benefits.
The police seized Rs 3.89 lakh in cash from the accused, 25 mobile phones, one laptop, plastic coins used as token currency, and eight four-wheelers. Even play cards were seized.
During the trial, 96 witnesses were cross-examined and 13 documentary evidences were produced before the court, including CCTV footage from the resort.
The Panchmahal police had received information that a large number of people were being facilitated for gambling at the Jimira resort near Shivrajpur in Halol.
The police raided the resort on July 1, 2021 and found 26 persons, including six women, gambling.
With inputs from agencies
