Despite crackdown, gambling in Vellore draws men from AP too

It may be recalled that local women, aggrieved by their families getting affected by their husbands’ indulgence in cotton gambling, turned up at the weekly grievances day meeting late last month blindfolded and presented a petition to the District Collector, appealing to take action against the activity. Their agitation appeared to highlight the scourge continuing to be on the rise despite police intervention.

Sources only ascertained this as they mentioned the gambling activity in the district now drawing customers from Chittoor and Cuddapah in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. “As the border is porous and is only a short distance away, men from various locations in Chittoor and Cuddapah districts arrive at two locations either on two-wheelers or their cars, spend the day gambling and then leave in the evening,” a source said.

The two hotspots include the Poonkulam foothill in Agravaram village panchayat under the Gudiyattam taluk police station limits and Varadareddipalli falling under the Paradarami police station limits.

Two villagers, preferring anonymity, said that the men come by around 10 am and leave by 6 pm. They use cards to gamble and the amount ranges between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh, they added. Asked why other villagers did not object to the activity, they said, “Gambling is not undertaken in the villages but in isolated spots and groves where they are away from the public eye, which is why nobody complains.”

Further, villagers mentioned that what alerted them was the unusually large number of vehicles in the rural area bearing Andhra Pradesh registration number plates. “As the locations (where gambling takes place) are within six kilometres of the border, what is to prevent the Andhra visitors from bringing in arms?” they rued.

When asked about the issue, Vellore Superintendent of Police Pravesh Kumar, who initially said that the gambling activity took place on the Andhra side of the border, later added that five people were arrested for cotton betting in the Poonkulam foot hills and cash amounting to Rs 2500 was seized on January 8. The locals were also arrested and remanded to custody.

However, sources aver that gambling still continues in the district, unabated.