BJP MP's son booked after 3 held from his house for IPL betting

Son of the BJP's Panchmahal MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan was booked on Sunday after police raided his premises in Mehlol village in Godhra tehsil last night and arrested three persons for allegedly betting on IPL matches. Police found some mobile phone handsets, an LCD TV set, and a laptop, collectively worth Rs 1.13 lakh, during the raid.

Pravinsinh Chauhan, the son of the MP, had unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Assembly polls from Godhra constituency on the BJP ticket. He crossed over to the Congress last December. A local Crime Branch officer has clarified that Pravinsinh and his MP father live separately in their native village, and the latter has nothing to do with this incident.

"Local Crime Branch sleuths raided the house belonging to Congress member Pravinsinh Chauhan, son of BJP MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan, and arrested three persons for allegedly betting on the ongoing IPL matches. We have registered an FIR today," said LCB police inspector D J Chavda.

Pravinsinh was not present in the house when the raid was conducted.

"However, as the premises used for betting belongs to him (Pravinsinh), he is an accused in the case. We have registered an FIR against him and initiated an investigation into his role," Chavda said, adding that Pravinsinh has been booked under various sections of the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act and Information Technology Act.

The arrested trio are identified as Tekchand Kalwani, Jitendra Kalwani and Prakash Thakkar.