Feature
Jung orders probe into Delhi jailbreak; MHA seeks report
New Delhi: Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the escape of two prisoners from Tihar jail while the central government sought a report from jail officials on the incident.
Jail authorities too initiated an internal probe into the escape of undertrials Faizan, 19, and Javed alias Rinku, 18, from the high-security jail No.7 on June 27 evening.
There were different accounts of what exactly happened.
The Lt. Governor ordered District Magistrate (south west) Ankur Garg to conduct an inquiry into “wall break, digging of tunnel and escape of prisoners” from the jail while Tihar Jail Deputy Inspector General Mukesh Prasad told IANS that the prisoners did not dig any tunnel or break any wall.
“The two accused somehow escaped by scaling the jail wall after stepping on a pile of debris dumped by PWD workers while constructing a road here,” Prasad told.
According to Prasad, an initial probe by jail authorities revealed that the two inmates fled from barrack No.5 in Block 1 of Ward no.4 inside jail No.7 on June 27 evening.
“The duo first went to jail No.8. It seems the two climbed the debris piled up near the wall of jail No.8, after which one of them got on to the others’ shoulder and reached the top of the wall. He then pulled the other one with the help of a towel,” Prasad said.
The Tihar DIG said that after jumping over the wall, the two jumped into a canal near jail No.7. While Javed swam across and scaled another wall to make good his escape, Faizan was caught near the canal.
Prasad told IANS that the duo was present during the morning headcount on June 27, but the two were found missing during the evening roll call.
“An alarm was raised after they were found missing. Every ward and barrack was checked. Meanwhile, our team caught Faizan while he was trying to cross the canal,” he said.
Prasad said both the inmates were facing trial for robbery, theft, attempt to dacoity and others.
“They were among 21 Muslim youths kept in a special ‘roza’ ward in Barrack No.5 so that they could offer prayers during Ramadan,” he said.
The DIG said jail authorities initiated an internal inquiry under the supervision of superintendent of jail No.3, M.K. Dwivedi.
Meanwhile, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has sought a report into the incident.
Jung said the magistrial inquiry, to be completed within a week, would look into the factors and circumstances leading to the escape of two inmates, review comprehensively the security set-up of Delhi prisons, fix responsibility for the lapses that led to the escape and suggest remedial measures for the prison administration to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Prasad said Faizan of Deoli in south Delhi was lodged in the jail on June 24, while Javed of Madanpur Khadar, also in south Delhi, was brought in earlier on June 2.
“Faizan was lodged here for the first time in November 2014 on a theft charge but was bailed out in December last. However, Javed was lodged here more than two times in the past,” the DIG said.
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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