Odisha Police have arrested more than 500 people in the two districts of Ganjam and Jajpur on the charge of gambling after raiding several gambling dens organised on the occasion of Kumar Purnima festival, a police officer said Wednesday.
The police have already arrested over 500 gamblers in Ganjam district this week and has seized Rs 6 lakh in cash, the officer said.
A report from Jajpur said that police arrested 11 persons on the charge of gambling after raiding a gambling den in Bharatpur area on Wednesday.
Police also seized three bikes, six mobile phones and cash of Rs 5,325 from their possession.
"Acting on a tip off, we conducted raid at the gambling den and caught 11 persons in the night on Tuesday in Bharatpur village," said Rakesh Kumar Tripathy, inspector- in-charge of Balichandrapur police station in Jajpur district.
Gambling goes on for several days, in most villages during the Kumara Purnima festival, also called Lakshi puja. The festival is observed five days after Dussehra.
As gambling is considered as part of the Kumar Purnima celebrations, many such dens open in nook and corner of Ganjam district and in other districts also, the officer added.