Feature
IM terrorist flies into Delhi, arrested
New Delhi:A senior operative of the Indian Mujahideen, Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, was arrested after he flew in here in what was said to be “a carefully calibrated operation”.
A court later sent Siddibapa to a week’s custody with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which made the arrest at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the morning.
But NIA officials denied reports that Siddibapa, a cousin of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, was deported from Dubai.
“It was a carefully calibrated operation. It is clarified that Wahid has not been deported or extradited,” NIA’s Inspector General S.K. Singh told IANS. He declined to say from where Siddibapa arrived.
NIA officials had said that the former perfume trader was based in the United Arab Emirates, which has in the past deported criminals wanted by Indian authorities.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Pandit sent Siddibapa, described as the financial brain of the terror outfit, to seven days of custody with NIA.
A resident of Maqdoom colony in Bhatkal in Karnataka, he was wanted on charges of conspiring to stage terror attacks at various places in India.
From Dubai, Siddibapa allegedly recruited young Indians for the Indian Mujahideen and funded their activities.
The NIA told the court that Siddibapa had been in touch with other Indian Mujahideen operatives through electronic communication.
“He was responsible in providing tactical, material and financial support to IM members in planning, preparing and organising terrorist activities,” said a NIA source.
He also reportedly played an important function in raising funds for the Indian Mujahideen. “He is one of the oldest and senior most members of the group,” the source said.
But Siddibapa’s defence counsel opposed the NIA plea and said his name was not on any list including the wanted criminal list.
A Red Corner Notice was issued for him in December 2013.
Siddibapa was wanted for his alleged involvement in the July 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2008 Delhi blasts and the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Benguluru.
He allegedly routed money using both banking channels and the Western Union Money Transfer.
He left for Dubai much before the crackdown on the Indian Mujahideen started in 2008. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and arrested in January 2014.
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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