Feature
Husband pleas pregnant wife Sana ‘run, run, run’ as she was shot with crossbow
London: In a shocking incident, a terrified husband pleaded for his 35-year-old pregnant wife Sana Muhammad to ‘run, run, run’ when he spotted a man armed with a crossbow in a shed in their garden.
The armed attacker stormed into the kitchen and shot eight-months-pregnant Sana Muhammad in the stomach. The arrow narrowly missed her unborn baby, who was safely delivered via c-section, but 35-year-old Sana died hours later.
The mum of five had been doing the washing up in front of her children at her Ilford home in east London when the man fired at her. Doctors performed an emergency caesarian to deliver her son who has been named Ibrahim by her heartbroken relatives, reports the Evening Standard.
Heartbroken widower Imtiaz Muhammad said doctors had to operate with the arrow still inside her. Imtiaz relived this horror and described the moment he saw his wife’s killer hiding in the garden shed.
Imtiaz, 42, told the Standard she was shot in front her children who are aged one, four, 12, 15 and 17. He claimed: “I went to put a cardboard box in the shed. He was there with the crossbow loaded.
“He stared at me, he was going to shoot so I ran into the house. My wife was doing the washing up, I was shouting ‘run, run run’. “He shot her. I can’t help thinking she took my arrow. Maybe it should have hit me. The kids were all there, it was horrific.”
He described Sana as a “wonderful mother and wife” and said he was “heartbroken”. Zia Khan, who has known Sana for eight years, said: “She was kind and caring and was a wonderful mother.”
Husband ask pregnant wife Sana ‘run, run, run’ after she was shot with crossbow:
“She was a very good, lovely lady. She was a close friend of mine, and we would share our problems with each other and could talk for hours.” One neighbour said: “We saw the police bringing out a crossbow arrow as if for evidence, it looked about 30cm long.”
The incident means the number of homicides in the capital so far this year has reached 119 -one more than the whole total for 2017. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “No other persons are sought in connection with this investigation. The arrested man and woman were known to each other.”
“Enquiries into the circumstances continue.” DCI Gary Holmes, of the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “This is a tragic incident and our sympathies are with the loved ones and friends of the victim.
“I am appealing for any witnesses who were in the area of Applegarth Drive from the evening of Sunday, 11 November to the morning of Monday, 12 November to please contact us with any information they might have, however small.
“It could prove vital to our ongoing enquiry.” Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 50, was arrested at the scene and appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court today after being charged with her murder.
Cops confirmed Sana and Unmathallegadoo “were known to each other”.
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.