Feature
Vyapam scam: Rajnath’s no to CBI probe, opposition attacks
Bhopal/New Delhi: The central government on Monday rejected calls for a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, even as a police trainee recruited through Vyapam was found dead in Sagar district.
The Congress, the AAP and the CPI-M stepped up attacks on the central and Madhya Pradesh governments over the rising number of deaths in the recruitment scandal. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, however, insisted that every death cannot be linked to the scam.
The trainee woman police sub-inspector, Anamika Kushwaha, became the third alleged victim of the Vyapam scam since Saturday. She was selected through the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal or Vyapam. Her body was found near a pond in the Police Training Centre in Sagar.
Sagar’s Superintendent of Police Sachin Atulkar, however, denied any connection between her death and the scam.
On Sunday, Arun Sharma, dean of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Medical College at Jabalpur, who was connected with the probe into the scandal, was found dead in a hotel room near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A day earlier, television journalist Akshay Singh died dramatically in Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh soon after interviewing the family of one of the accused in the scam who had died.
Chief Minister Chouhan, under pressure from the opposition to quit, said that while every death was sad, “it is not fair to link every death to Vyapam”.
More than 40 people associated with the admission and recruitment racket in Vyapam have died since 2013 — either in mysterious circumstances or have committed suicide.
The admission and recruitment racket apparently involves politicians, officials and businessmen.
The Congress on Monday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the scandal and sought Chouhan’s resignation.
“The chief minister is the kingpin of the Vyapam scam. Any probe into it will essentially require that he is thoroughly interrogated and investigated,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. “This is only possible if he steps down as chief minister.”
But central Home Minister Rajnath Singh said there was no need for a CBI inquiry as the Special Investigation Team probing the scam reported to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, not the state government.
“The SIT is not working under the government, but under the supervision of the high court,” Singh said in Jhabua.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “no more remain silent” over the scam, which has snowballed into a major row.
“People want the prime minister to speak and intervene in Vyapam. The PM should no more remain silent,” he tweeted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress of playing politics over “dead bodies” and said only the Madhya Pradesh High Court can refer the investigation to the CBI.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told the Congress to have faith in the judiciary.
Another Aam Aadmi Party leader, Kumar Vishwas, on Monday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court.
“I have filed a PIL with the Supreme Court, requesting it to probe the Vyapam scam immediately,” Vishwas told reporters.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat alleged that the SIT was protecting Chouhan, adding she did not believe that an impartial investigation would be carried out in Madhya Pradesh.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was the government’s duty to “clear all doubts”. “An atmosphere of suspicion has been created.”
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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