BALURGHAT: Gangarampur was rocked this week by two separate incidents connected to gambling. A housewife was allegedly murdered by her husband, who was addicted to gambling, while in another incident, a hotel owner was arrested for illegal betting operations.
In the first incident, police recovered the body of a 31-year-old woman from Ratinathpur village under Gangarampur Police Station on Wednesday. The deceased, married for 12 years, was allegedly subjected to continuous physical and mental torture by her husband and in-laws. According to family members, her husband, who was addicted to gambling, had recently sold her gold ornaments to sustain his habit. Frequent disputes reportedly erupted in the family, leading to village arbitrations on several occasions.
Allegations suggest that following a heated quarrel, the woman was killed by her husband and in-laws, who then attempted to portray the death as suicide by hanging. It was also alleged that the family tried to hush up the matter by rushing her to a hospital without informing her parents. Relatives later accused: “She was strangled to death and then hanged. We demand justice.”
The body has been sent to Balurghat hospital for post-mortem and police have begun an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of death.
Meanwhile, in another development on Tuesday evening, police arrested a hotel owner from a premises near Gangarampur football ground for allegedly running multiple illegal businesses, including cricket betting, lottery and online gaming.
Acting on prior information, a special team led by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) and the Special Operation Group raided the hotel. The accused was detained for questioning and later, incriminating materials were seized from the premises.
Confirming the raid, the SDPO stated: “The accused was involved in online gaming and other unlawful activities. Items have been recovered and a probe is underway.”