Rajkot: A policeman serving in Surendranagar district is at the centre of a major criminal investigation after a team led by Rajkot range inspector general of police Nirlipt Rai dismantled an alleged off-the-books stock betting (dabba trading) operation that was run from his residence.A probe has been launched against Sanjay Singh Rathod, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) stationed at Dhajala police station, after a raid was conducted on Tuesday at his residence in Rameshwar Township, in Ratanpar village of Wadhwan taluka.On entering the premises, police found a “dabba trading” setup. Dabba trading is an illegal, unlicensed mechanism where participants place speculative bets on stock price movements outside regulatory oversight.According to the FIR, the second floor of Rathod’s house had been outfitted with electronic infrastructure specifically to facilitate the speculation network for financial gain.During the raid, officers detained Rathod’s father, Nathu Rathod, on-site. Under questioning, the senior Rathod allegedly admitted that the upstairs gambling facilities were established under his son’s direct instructions. Preliminary findings indicate that ASI Sanjay Singh Rathod and his accomplice Divyarajsinh Chudasama operated as business partners in the illicit venture.A team of co-conspirators — Divyarajsinh Chudasama, Vipul Sindhav, Arun Kothari, Dalsukh Sindhav and Vijay Detroja — was caught using laptops to track market fluctuations while accepting speculative wagers from clients via mobile devices.During the operation, police confiscated a substantial cache of digital evidence, including, 10 laptops used for market tracking, 29 mobile phones used to receive client orders and multiple pen drives and other electronic equipment.An FIR has been registered at Joravarnagar police station against seven named individuals and 16 unidentified brokers under Sections 4 and 5 of the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act.Given the prime accused’s status as a law enforcement officer, DIG Nirlipt Rai stripped Surendranagar Police of the case, transferring the investigation to Rajkot Rural Police under the supervision of assistant superintendent of police Simran Bhardwaj.
