Police raid at Madhya Pradesh IAS officer’s farmhouse exposes gambling op, 18 detained

Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district detained 18 people after raiding a farmhouse owned by IAS officer Vandana Vaidya and uncovering an alleged gambling operation , officials said.

The raid was conducted at a farmhouse in Awalipura village in the Manpur police station area , about 50 kilometres from Indore city, on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday following a tip-off about illegal gambling activities at the property.

Police said the farmhouse’s main gate was locked when the team reached the spot, but voices were heard from inside the premises. Officers later entered the property from another side and found several people gambling with playing cards inside the farmhouse.

During the raid, 18 people were detained , while six others managed to flee the scene in the darkness. Police teams have been deployed to track down the absconding suspects.

Authorities recovered Rs 13.68 lakh in cash , along with 30 mobile phones, playing cards and two cars allegedly used by those involved in the gambling activity. Officials said the accused had travelled from different districts of the state to participate in the gambling session.

Police identified the alleged organiser of the operation as Jagdish Rathod alias Kubda , who fled during the raid along with farm caretaker Ranjeet Chaudhary and several others.

The farmhouse is registered in the names of Vaidya and her husband, Ambreesh Vaidya. Vaidya currently serves as Managing Director of the state government’s Finance Development Corporation.

Following the incident, the IAS officer wrote to the police stating that unknown individuals had illegally entered the property and that she suspected theft may also have taken place. She requested that a separate criminal case be registered against those responsible for trespassing and other offences.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Yangchen Dolkar Bhutia said the complaint would be examined as part of the investigation to determine how the individuals gained access to the farmhouse.

Meanwhile, three police personnel suspended — including the station house officer of Manpur police station, a sub-inspector and an assistant sub-inspector — pending a departmental inquiry into the incident.