Arsalan Owner & 13 Others Wrongfully Arrested For Playing Poker by Kolkata Police

Arsalan Owner Arrested by KP
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis September 30, 2019
  • 3 Minutes Read

On September 28, the anti-rowdy section of the Kolkata Police raided several establishments of dubious nature and among them were two poker clubs, namely the Friends Club located in Camac Street and the Leo Club situated on AJC Bose Road. A total of 14 individuals were apprehended from the establishments mentioned above and among them was the owner of the popular Mughlai cuisine restaurant chain Arsalan – Akhtar Parvez.

According to the Kolkata Police, “During the raids, 14 persons, including Parvez, were arrested from two poker clubs.”

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Murlidhar Sharma also stated that around ₹90,000 in cash, and several playing cards were also seized. All the individuals arrested were booked under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and various provisions of the Gambling Act.

On September 29, the seven individuals, who were arrested from Friends Club and taken to the Shakespeare Sarani police station, were presented before the Bankshall court, while the seven people arrested at the Leo Club were kept at the Beniapukur police station and presented before the Sealdah court. The Bankshall court remanded the arrested to police custody till Thursday, while the Sealdah court remanded the individuals to police custody till Monday.

“The section 3 of the Gambling Act is a non-bailable offence and since they were conducting gambling in the name of lottery, it is an offence of cheating,” the state counsel at Bankshall court reportedly argued.

For people who are not fluent with the provisions of the West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competitions Act, 1957, this incident would seem like the righteous act of law enforcement cracking down on the seedy underbelly of the gambling menace in the city. Sounds very appropriate for this time of the year, doesn’t it? Goddess Durga vanquishing the Demon King Mahisasur – Kolkata Police eradicating gambling from the ‘City of Joy.’ But in reality, it couldn’t be further away from the truth.

Ever since this news hit the headlines, mainstream media sensationalized the fact that another member of the Arsalan family has been embroiled in criminal activities. Last month, Parvez’s eldest son, Raghib was arrested in a hit-and-run case that took place at Shakespeare Sarani, in which two Bangladeshi residents were killed. Parwez’s youngest son, Arsalan, after whom the restaurant chain has been named, was earlier apprehended for the accident, but it was later revealed that it was Raghib who was driving the Jaguar that collided with a Mercedes-Benz before going on to hit the innocent bystanders. Raghib’s uncle, Md. Humza has also been arrested, while the former is presently in judicial custody.

Parwez’s arrest on Saturday has given fodder to the media frenzy which has sadly ended up ignorantly portraying the game of poker in a negative light. Most media outlets that have run the news have incorrectly stated that poker is banned in India. The constitution of India has not passed any law emphatically banning poker; however, the Gujarat High Court on December 2017 adjudged poker to be a game of chance, the decision is presently under appeal and most certainly not applicable across the nation.

In fact, West Bengal is the one place where the law EXPLICITLY states that poker is excluded from the ambit of gambling. According to Section 2 (b) of the West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competitions Act of 1957, gaming or gambling is defined as follows:

“Gaming or gambling includes wagering or betting except wagering or betting upon a horse-race when such wagering or betting takes place

(i) in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted by the State Government under this Act,

(ii) on the day on which the race is to be run,

(iii) in an enclosure which the licensee of the race course, on which the race is to be run, has set apart for the purpose under the terms of license granted under section 2C, in respect of such race course, or in any other place approved by the State Government in this behalf,

(iv) with a licensed book-maker or by means of a totalisator as defined in section 14 of the Bengal Amusements Tax Act, 1922, but does not include a lottery or games of cards like Bridge, Poker, Rummy or Nap.”

Back in 2015, Indian Poker Association’s (IPA) Secretary K.N. Suresh had moved the Kolkata High Court after police had visited the premises of a poker room during its soft launch on June 18, 2015, and threatened the organizers with dire consequences if they continued operations. Suresh had petitioned the High Court upholding Section 2(b) of The West Bengal Prize Competition and Gambling Act, 1957, which excludes poker, rummy, and nap from the ambit of gambling.

The matter had appeared before Justice Dipankar Datta, and on July 2, 2015, he passed a favorable decision, allowing the unhindered operations of the poker room. The Judge questioned the police about the raid, and they replied in the negative. Taking into account the existing law and the Police submission, the Judge then ordered that the poker room could operate without interference, on the condition that no illegal activity be indulged in.

The exact words of the judgment were as follows:

“Provisions of the West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competitions Act, 1957 and in particular the definition of “gaming or gambling” under section 2(1) (b) thereof reveal that poker is not included either in gaming or gambling and, therefore, if anyone indulges in playing such game without indulging in any other overt act, which could be treated as amounting to an offence, the same does not attract police interference. It is accordingly directed that playing the game of poker shall not result in unnecessary harassment of the players by the respondents.”

In fact, it is because poker is legal in West Bengal that some of the biggest online poker companies have their registered offices in Kolkata, including Spartan Poker, PokerBaazi, and PokerStars India.

So, it is genuinely shocking that when the law of a state declares poker to be exempt from the gambit of gambling, how is it that the law enforcement authorities still deemed it fit to arrest individuals for playing poker, claiming the people to be indulging in gambling?

Not only is this an uncalled-for action taken by the police, but the widespread uninformed reporting of the incident by national media is equalling appalling. With the festive season of Durga Puja looming overhead the state of Bengal, it is difficult to say what lies in store for the people who have been arrested in this case.

Cover Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times

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