Feature
Move to hand over Chhota Rajan cases to CBI kicks up row
Mumbai: The government’s decision to hand over all cases related to arrested mafia don Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan to the CBI assumed political overtones here on Friday, with two opposition parties saying it would demoralise the Mumbai police.
The two main opposition parties, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, lashed out at the state government’s move.
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam said first it was the Sheena Bora murder investigation and now it’s the Chhota Rajan case which Maharashtra has handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“If all the cases the CBI will handle, then what will Mumbai police do,” Nirupam wondered, urging the government to reconsider the decision.
NCP state spokesperson Nawab Malik said only three days ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and even Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed had assured that the mafia don would be brought to Mumbai.
“Why now he has been taken to New Delhi? What is their strategy? All major cases including the journalist Jyotirmoy Dey killing and the Pakmodia Street firing shall be handled by the CBI. Do they doubt our police’s capabilities? It is demoralizing the Mumbai police force,” Malik said.
He said that the state government has no faith in the Mumbai police which would send a wrong message to the people.
“The BJP-Shiv Sena government must clear their stand on this issue and rebuild the morale of the Mumbai police, and assure people that they can be trusted,” Malik urged.
Former Maharashtra director general of police D. Shivanandan also criticized the move to hand over the Chhota Rajan cases to the CBI and reiterated that the Mumbai police are among the best in the world to investigate any such cases.
He also termed as “an eyewash” Chhota Rajan’s claims of patriotism and his desire to “help” the Indian authorities, saying “he is just an ordinary criminal and must be dealt with accordingly”.
Chhota Rajan was brought from Bali, where he was nabbed by Indonesian police, by a special flight to New Delhi early Friday morning and then taken into CBI custody.
The development came after the state Additional Chief Secretary (Home) K.P. Bakshi made a surprise announcement on Thursday evening that all cases pertaining to Chhota Rajan would be handed over to CBI since they had national and international ramifications.
Ironically, earlier this week, ancitipating Chhota Rajan’s arrival, the Mumbai police had made elaborate plans to lodge him in the high-security ‘anda cell’ (Oval Cell) inside the Arthur Road Central Jail, which was once occupied by the hanged Pakistani terrorist M. Ajmal Kasab.
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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