Feature
Pakistani boat blast: Parrikar warns of action against Coast Guard officer
Bengaluru/Ahmedabad: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday said he will hold an inquiry and possibly take “disciplinary” action against a Coast Guard officer who sparked off controversy with his remarks – captured on video – that he ordered a Pakistani boat allegedly trying to sneak into Indian waters be blown up.
Parrikar also said the government “stands by its statement” that the boat was blown up by the “suspected terrorists” themselves and was prepared to release evidence to this effect.
Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General (DIG) B.K. Loshali had Monday apparently said: “Let me tell you. I hope you remember 31st December night. We blew off that Pakistan. We have blown them off.I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani.”
Loshali’s remarks were aired by television channels minutes after the defence minister was asked about the Indian Express story, which had highlighted the officer’s statement.
Parrikar warns of action against Coast Guard officer
The daily Wednesday ran the story about Loshali’s claims. Later, in the day when Parrikar was speaking on the matter, it put up a video on its website of Loshali speaking at the launch of an interceptor boat in Surat Feb 16 and where he made the remarks about the Pakistani ‘terror’ boat.
But in a u-turn, Loshali, who is also chief of staff of the Coast Guard’s northwest region, denied making the comments.
Facing a volley of questions on Loshali’s remarks, Parrikar said: “I will make inquiry. Take the video copy. We will take action against the person if he made the statement.”
“If someone makes a statement which is incorrect, you are making a case of disciplinary proceedings,” he told reporters at the Aero India 2015 show that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
“You have to understand my position. There are 15-16 lakh service personnel, if someone makes a statement which is factually incorrect I will take action after inquiring into it.”
“Defence ministry stands to what it had stated,” he said.
Parrikar had said in early January that occupants of the vessel that blew up and sank off the coast of Gujarat were “suspected terrorists” and did not appear to be smugglers.
He had said that those aboard decided to blow themselves up instead of surrendering.
The defence minister had also said that another boat was also traced but it was in international waters.
The suspicious boat was intercepted by the Coast Guard based on an intelligence input Dec 31, after it was traced in the Arabian Sea, 365 km off Porbandar in Gujarat. The dramatic incident was a reminder of the manner Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai in 2008.
The vessel, which had set off from near Karachi on New Year’s Eve, turned into a ball of fire and sank after its occupants, believed to be four in number, apparently set fire to it early Jan 1.
The defence minister’s statement came just hours after Loshali refuted the media reports.
Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Loshali said media reports quoting him as saying that he ordered that the suspected boat be blasted were wrong and not factual.
“The operation was not handled by me. I was not fully privy to it,” he maintained.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party took on the government on the issue.
Congress leader P. C. Chacko said that the “whole thing looks confused” and they felt that “the defence minister should come out with a statement”.
Party leader Manish Tewari took a dig at Parrikar.
“Mr Def Min what is a bigger sin blowing the Paki boat or lying to the nation? If they were indeed terrorists why be ashamed of blowing them out of water. Uncanny similarities to similar modus operandi the fake encounter syndrome to bolster machismo & build Alpha image,” Tewari said in a tweet.
The AAP also mocked the Modi government.
“This reflects the functioning of the government. A senior official is saying something and the government is saying something else. This is like one hand does not know what the other is doing,” said AAP leader Ashutosh.
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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