Feature
CBI sleuths question Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Sitapur prison
Unnao: Sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the Rae Bareli mishap case questioned rape accused and now expelled BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Sitapur District Jail on Saturday.
The CBI may now apply for custodial remand of Sengar and other named accused and amygot for their polygraph or narco analysis test.
Interestingly, on Saturday, the Unnao district administration, which had earlier dismissed the issue of cancellation of Sengar’s three arms licences saying it needed judicial formalities, cancelled all three licences.
As per reports, a three-member CBI team visited Sitapur District Jail and questioned the Bangermau MLA for several hours.
Another four-member CBI team visited the native village of the rape survivor in Unnao on Saturday.
According to the police station in-charge, Naradmuni, the team was in the village for hours and returned to Lucknow after conducting investigations. No one from the victim’s family was present in the village at the time of the CBI team’s visit, he said.
Earlier on Friday, the CBI had questioned the Unnao rape survivor’s uncle Mahesh Singh in the Rae Bareli prison.
In Rae Bareli, the CBI team probing the accident which left the rape survivor critically injured, recreated the sequence of events. It also grilled the driver and cleaner of the truck which had rammed into the survivor’s car on July 28. The CBI has sought custodial remand of both the driver and the cleaner.
After apex court’s direction of time-bound action, the Unnao district authorities on Friday cancelled Sengar’s licences for a single-barrel gun, a rifle and a revolver, 15 months after he was arrested on April 13, 2018.
The condition of the 19-year-old victim remained critical but stable. Doctors treating her at the KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow said that she developed pneumonia and her condition remained critical and was still on ventilator. However, the rape victim’s lawyer was taken off the ventilator but was still not out of danger. Both were being monitored round-the-clock.
As per the Supreme Court order, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have taken over the security of the victim and her lawyer. The CRPF personnel are deployed at the entry gate of Critical Care Unit on the third floor of Trauma Centre. Entry has been restricted and only family members and doctors are being allowed inside.
A team of CBI officials, including women officials, also visited the Trauma Centre to speak to the victim’s family members on Friday and Saturday.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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