The Central Crime Branch has raided a five-star hotel that was allegedly being used as a den of high-tech gambling.
Sleuths of the CCB's special enquiry squad arrested six people, including a retired government servant, by raiding the hotel located on Race Course Road, just a stone's throw away from the seat of power, officials said. The raid also yielded Rs 20.7 lakh in cash, various playing cards and a cash-counting machine, officials added.
The hotel management has claimed ignorance about the gambling but the CCB is verifying the claim.
The raid was carried out by CCB special enquiry inspector Ravi Patil and his team following a "specific" tip about high-tech gambling taking place in one of the rooms at the luxury hotel.
One of the arrested suspects has been identified as Ramakrishna, who retired from the accountant general's office. The other suspects are his friends: Uday Shetty, Nataraj, Suresh, Krishna Gowda and Shankar. They are into the hotel, catering, transport and other businesses, the CCB added.
The group usually fixed the date and venue for gambling with mutual convenience. The five-star hotel was one of their favourite joints.
The CCB has handed over the investigation to the jurisdictional High Grounds police station, where a case has been registered against the six suspects.