Feature
Hindu girl obsessed for suicide over ‘I Love Muslims’ message on WhatsApp
Bengaluru: In a shameful incident, a 20-year-old Hindu woman allegedly committed suicide after being hounded for sending a WhatsApp message that said “I love Muslims”. A local BJP youth wing leader has been arrested and police is on the lookout for four others.
Dhanyashree, a 20-year-old B.Com student, was found hanging in her room on Saturday, the police said. The incident took place at Mudigere town near Chikkamagaluru, also known as India’s coffee bowl.
The woman was chatting with her friend, Santhosh, on Friday when the conversation veered towards the futility of fighting over caste and religion. In a reply to a question posed by him, she had replied “I love Muslims”.
Anilraj, who is BJP Yuva Morcha’s Mudigere town president, went to the woman’s house to warn her against befriending Muslims, police said.
Hindu girl motivated for suicide over sending WhatsApp message ‘I love Muslims’:
Infuriated by her message, Santhosh warned her against having any kind of relationship with Muslims. He had also shared the screenshot of their conversation with local Bajrang Dal and VHP members. The screenshot of the message went viral, causing mental agony to Dhanyashree and her mother.
Chikkamagaluru SP M Annamalai said that some youths, including the BJP youth wing leader Anilraj, then visited her house on Friday evening and threatened her and her mother against being friendly with Muslims.
Dhanyashree committed suicide the next day. A note found near her body said the incident had ruined her personal life and education.
Police have arrested Anilraj, who is BJP Yuva Morcha’s Mudigere town president. The police have also launched a massive manhunt for the main accused Santhosh and three others.
“Five people had gone to her house. We have taken this incident seriously. All of them will be punished. Please don’t call it moral policing. Call it moral goondagiri,” the SP said. He added that action will be taken against others who shared the screenshot of the WhatsApp message.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.