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After uproar, Salman apologises for Yakub-Tiger tweets
Mumbai: After tweets that triggered a volley of protests, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Sunday evening apologised for saying that the 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Yakub Memon should not hang but his brother Tiger Memon should.
While standing by what he said overnight, Salman said his father Salim Khan wanted him to retract his tweets “as they have the potential to create misunderstanding”. And he promptly deleted the earlier tweets.
In his latest tweet, the 49-year-old actor he never sought to imply that Yakub Memon, who is set to hang in the Nagpur jail on July 30, was not involved in the deadly 1993 blasts that left 257 people dead and over 700 injured in what was then the world’s worst urban terror attack.
“What I said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him (Tiger). I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country.
“Many lives were lost in the Mumbai blasts. And I have repeatedly said the loss of (even) one innocent life is equal to the loss of all humanity.
“My dad … said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I hereby retract them.
“I would like to unconditionally apologize for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally.
“I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti-religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will,” the actor tweeted.
Yakub is the brother of one of the main accused, Tiger Memon, who along with others is absconding. Indian officials believe he and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim are in Pakistan.
In his previous tweets, the “Ek Tha Tiger” star also called Tiger Memon a coward for letting his brother face the gallows.
“We can die for our family. Tiger, your brother will be hanged for you in some days. Say something, make a statement or address that it was you. What kind of brother are you?”
The “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” actor also asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to share details about Tiger’s whereabouts with Indian authorities.
“Where are you hiding Tiger? Sharif Saab, I would request you to let us know about Tiger, if you have any information about him.
“I’ve been wanting to tweet this for three days and was afraid to do so but it involves a man and his family. Don’t hang brother, hang the fox who ran away.”
Taken aback by his son’s outburst, father Salim Khan told Zee Media: “Salman should have thought sensitively before tweeting in support of Yakub.”
Salman’s earlier tweets led to furore, forcing authorities to deploy around 50 policemen outside his residence in Galaxy Apartment in Bandra in fear of possible violence. Baricades came up outside his building.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mumbai president Ashish Shelar denounced Salman by calling his remarks an “insult to all Mumbaikars”.
Shelar sought the cancellation of Salman’s bail against his five-year jail term in the 2002 hit and run accident case.
Some 200 members of the BJP youth wing staged a noisy protest outside Salman’s home on Sunday afternoon.
BJP Mumbai North-East MP Kirit Somaiya pledged to raise the matter in parliament on Monday.
Ujjwal Nikam, who directed the prosecution in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, also criticized Salman.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray declined to react. “Whether action should be taken against him (Salman), let it be decided by the people concerned with the case.”
Bollywood was largely silent.
But filmmaker Sudhir Mishra came out in support of the actor saying Salman was entitled to his views. “And by the way many Indians share his views. Please react and talk to him with respect.”
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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