Feature
Authorities reach agreement with Sikh community in Jammu
Jammu: An agreement was reached overnight between the state administration and the agitating Sikh community here after authorities agreed to all the demands of the community.
The community had been protesting following violence on Thursday over Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s posters in which a youth was killed.
The protestors were demanding for arrest and punishment of those responsible for Thursday’s firing incident.
Senior leaders of the Sikh community held talks with state home secretary R.K. Goyal, director general of police (DGP) K. Rajendra Kumar, Jammu divisional commissioner Pawan Kotwal and other senior civil and police officials.
Sikh leader Tarlochan Singh Wazir told reporters after the meeting that the four-hour-long talks with the administration were successful since all the demands of the community were met.
Immediately after the talks, the government ordered transfer of senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jammu Uttam Chand, suspension of station house officer (SHO) Satwari Kulbir Singh and payment of ex gratia of Rupees five lakh and a government job to the next kin of the slain Sikh youth Jagjit Singh.
Sikh leaders said the cremation of the youth’s body will be held on Saturday at his ancestral Chohala (R.S.Pura) village.
Educational institutions in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajauri and Poonch districts will be shut for the second consecutive day on Saturday.
Police have also registered an FIR of murder under section 302 against a security guard of the SSP Jammu in Satwari police station for firing at the mob that led to the death of youth.
Police here confirmed that elders of the Sikh community had on Friday returned the AK-47 rifle which was snatched from a special police officer (SPO) by the protestors in Digiana area of the city on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Internet connectivity has been restored through landline broadband facilities in Jammu city.
Authorities said the same would be restored on mobile phones as well on Saturday.
The internet connections were snapped in order to prevent spreading of rumours after heightened tensions.
Authorities will also take a call today on lifting restrictions imposed in Jammu city under section 144 of the CrPc.
“We will review the situation in the afternoon”, DGP, K. Rajendra Kumar told IANS.
Trouble had erupted in Satwari area of the city on Wednesday when police removed posters of Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
An assistant sub-inspector of police was attacked with knife by a youth after the incident.
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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