Gujarat BJP MLA Kesarisinh Solanki gets two-year rigorous imprisonment in gambling case

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A court at Halol in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Wednesday sentenced BJP MLA Kesarisinh Solanki and 25 others to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for two years in a gambling case, less than a year after their arrest from a resort in a police raid.

The court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Prem Hansraj Singh, also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each on the MLA, who represents the Matar Assembly constituency in the Kheda district, and 25 other accused.

Solanki and 25 others, including seven women -- four of them Nepalese nationals- were arrested in a joint operation carried out by the local crime branch and the Pavagadh police on the night of July 1, 2021, for indulging in gambling at a resort at Shivrajpur in the Panchmahal district.

The court ordered the cancellation of the license of the resort where gambling was organised for violating norms.

During the raid, the police had seized Rs 3.9 lakh, eight vehicles, 25 mobile phones, and a laptop- collectively valued at Rs 1.15 crore. The police had filed a charge sheet under sections 4 and 5 of the Public Gambling Act.

The prosecution presented 34 witnesses and 13 documents as evidence in support of its case.

Solanki had first won the Matar constituency in a byelection held in 2014 and retained it in the 2017 Assembly elections.

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