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Wanted Pakistani militant killed while visiting Indian wife
Srinagar: A top Pakistani militant who carried a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head was killed by security forces on Tuesday when he went to visit his Indian wife in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had apparently been tracking the militant, called the killing of Abu Dujana, whom they described as the Lashkar-e-Taiba commander active in southern Kashmir since 2012, as a “huge achievement”.
His local accomplice who died with him in Hakripora village was identified as Arif Lalihaari. “A huge achievement for the police and security forces,” the police tweeted.
Dujana, a resident of Gilgit-Baltistan region in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was said to be responsible for a number of attacks on Indian security forces, including the August 2015 Udhampur strike that left two Border Security Force troopers dead and 12 injured.
“The killing of Abu Dujana and Lalihaari is a big success for the security forces and a huge setback to terrorist activities in south Kashmir,” a police official said.
Addressing the media with Lt Gen J.S. Sandhu, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s 15th Corps, Inspector General of Police Munir Khan said: “Dujana’s killing is good riddance to a nuisance.”
Acting on information about the presence of Dujana and Lalihaari, security forces surrounded the village at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday and the house.
The inmates in the house, which included Dujana’s wife and her parents, were told to leave. The family was then asked to persuade the Pakistani to surrender. He refused, triggering the gun battle.
“The operation ended after bodies of the two militants were recovered from the site and identified,” the police officer said.
Two houses in the village were destroyed in the gunfight.
Meanwhile, clashes broke out between the security forces and stone-pelting protesters as news of Dujana’s death spread.
Top Pakistani militant killed during visiting Indian wife in Kashmir valley:
Three protesters were admitted to hospitals with bullet injuries and several others sustained pellet injuries in the clashes.
Authorities have suspended Internet services in south Kashmir. Train services between Baanihal town in Jammu region and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley were also suspended.
The police said Dujana had broken loose from the LeT in last few months after which he established close proximity with Zakir Musa, who was recently appointed the head of Al Qaeda terror outfit in the Kashmir Valley.
Dujana was replaced by Abu Muhammad Ismail as the Divisional Commander of the LeT, a Pakistan-based group that masterminded the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 Indians and foreigners.
Ismail had carried out the July 10 attack on an Amarnath Yatra bus in Anantnag district which killed eight pilgrims.
Khan added: “Whether or not there are protests and disruptions by protesters during our operations against militants, the security forces will continue their operations.”
Both Khan and Lt Gen Sandhu said Dujana was now mostly indulging in “ayyashi” (debauchery) more than anything else.
Khan said all the overground operatives who helped terrorists to carry out the attack on Amarnath pilgrims on July 10 in which eight people were killed had been arrested.
“They are with us and they are singing. We have also seized vehicles involved in the attack. The case has been cracked. It is now only the militants involved in the attack who are to be neutralized.”
Asked about the next militant the security forces were targeting, Khan said: “Every militant active in the Kashmir Valley is our next target.”
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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