
Cops patrol slum to curb matka operation
The failure of a series of raids to curb the nuisance caused by the brazen operations of a matka den prompted Pune police to intensify vigil in the Patil Estate slum at Wakdewadi since Wednesday afternoon.
Some policemen from Khadki police station have been have been assigned to patrol the slums round-the-clock to ensure that the matka den owner does not resume his activities, disclosed Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone III Sanjay Verma.
The den owned jointly by Sattar Bhai, Ramu Chavan, Mehboob Bhai and Shankar Chavan was raided by the Khadki police at least thrice in the last two months, he said.
Besides two owners of the den, six persons were arrested during these raids. However, none of the raids yielded results as the foursome went back to business within a couple of days, he added.
Frustrated residents had submitted several applications asking DCP Varma to take stringent action.
Taking serious cognisance of the failure of the repeated raids to curb gambling, DCP Varma yesterday ordered Assistant Commissioner of Police D S Tompe to conduct yet another raid.
In a major swoop, ACP Tompe arrested four persons on Wednesday afternoon. Later, on receiving orders from the DCP, he posted two constables in Patil Estate slums to ensure that the den does not resume operations.
Booty recovered
Stolen booty worth over Rs 4.57 lakh has been recovered from three youths arrested by Chatuhshrungi police in the last month for their suspected involvement in burglaries and vehicle thefts. The arrests of Rajesh Chorge 25, Vinod Patil 26 and Manoj alias Akash Patil 25 has resulted in solving 10 cases of vehicle thefts and 12 burglaries, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone III Sanjay Varma. Rajesh, Vinod and Manoj were arrested on March 19. The admitted to selling off the stolen goods at Kolhapur, Baramati and Mumbai.