Manspasand Gymkhana Gambling Case: 9 Accused Get Bail, Key Associate Of Fugitive Also Gets Relief

In a major development in the Manspasand Gymkhana gambling case, a Judicial Magistrate court has granted conditional bail to nine accused, including alleged key operator Gama alias Govind Patel, who was accused of running a high-profile gambling operation at the Dariyapur-based club. Judicial Magistrate H.D. Rajpara ordered their release on a bond of ₹20,000 each. However, immediately after his release, Govind Patel was detained by Dariyapur Police under the PASA Act. Relatives of the other accused were seen rushing to take them away in vehicles.

187 Arrested In SMC Raid

The State Monitoring Cell (SMC), based in Gandhinagar, had raided Manspasand Gymkhana last Sunday and arrested 187 people, including Govind Patel. The operation reportedly continued for nearly 20 hours. All the accused were subsequently produced before the court, which granted bail to 178 of them, while Govind Patel and eight others were remanded to four days of police custody.

When the nine accused were produced before the court on Saturday, police did not seek further remand. Senior advocate Harshad Madhu, appearing for the accused, moved bail applications, arguing that they had already spent four days in police custody, no further recovery was required and the alleged offence carried a maximum punishment of seven years. After hearing both sides, the court granted conditional bail to all nine accused for ₹20,000 each.

Fugitive Pankaj Khatri’s Alleged Associate Arrested

Meanwhile, the SMC arrested Bandish Ajaybhai Khatri, described as the maternal cousin of alleged fugitive Pankaj Khatri, in connection with the same case. Police claimed that Bandish is involved in six serious criminal cases and had allegedly acted on Pankaj Khatri’s instructions in connection with the property where Manspasand Gymkhana operated.

According to the police investigation, Bandish allegedly entered into an agreement with Govind Patel for the Reva Bhavan building where the club operated. Police claimed that Bandish received ₹1.50 lakh every month and allegedly sent the remaining amount to Pankaj Khatri’s wife’s residence on Pankaj’s instructions. Investigators also claimed that Pankaj, who is currently in Canada, and Bandish remained in regular contact through WhatsApp.

Court Rejects 7-Day Remand Plea

The police produced Bandish before the court on Saturday and sought seven days of custody for further investigation. However, senior advocate Harshad Madhu opposed the remand application, arguing that three co-owners of the property had entered into the agreement and that Bandish received only ₹20,000 as rent. The defence maintained that he had no connection with the alleged gambling operation.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the police’s remand plea and ordered Bandish Khatri’s release on bail.