Gangtok/New Delhi:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) swooped down on 31 locations across India on August 22 and 23.
Raids stretched from Gangtok to Goa, covering Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur and Mumbai.
The targets included five glittering casinos – Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and the flashy Big Daddy Casino.
At the centre of the storm – K.C. Veerendra, MLA from Chitradurga district.
The probe is linked to a massive illegal online and offline betting racket.
Veerendra, once seen as a “people’s representative,” now stands accused of being the “bettor-in-chief.”
The raids unearthed a mountain of evidence.
Cash worth ₹12 crore.Foreign currency close to ₹1 crore. Gold jewellery valued at around ₹6 crore.Silver weighing 10 kg.
Property papers and four luxury vehicles. ED also froze 17 bank accounts and 2 lockers.
“The searches have revealed the extent of the betting racket. We have seized cash, jewellery, foreign currency and frozen multiple bank accounts linked to the MLA and his associates,” an ED spokesperson said.
Veerendra’s arrest came dramatically in Gangtok on August 23.
He was whisked before the Judicial Magistrate, Gangtok.
A transit remand was secured to produce him in a Bengaluru court.
“Instead of serving people, our MLA was gambling with their trust and has spread his netwrok in Himalayan state,” said one Gangtok resident.
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