Feature
Clothes matching CCTV suspects found in Kamlesh Tiwari murder case
Lucknow: UP police claimed to have found the clothes that matched with the CCTV footages of the day when Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered. According to reports, police said the clothes and bag were recovered from a hotel near Tiwari’s house in Lucknow. Five persons have been arrested by UP and Gujarat Police. Maharashtra ATS detained another person late on Saturday night.
On Saturday, UP Police dismissed any terror link to the murder and said that Tiwari was killed because of the derogatory remarks he made against prophet Muhammed in 2015. Tiwari’s son demanded an NIA probe into the murder.
The suspects were carrying a sweet box for Tiwari and that’s how they gained entry inside his Lucknow house where they spent over 30 minutes before stabbing him to death. One of the men was wearing a saffron kurta and the other a red one, while the woman was wearing a red kurta and white dupatta.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday night, OP Singh, Director-General of Police (UP) said the state had reached out to Anti-Terrorism Squads in Gujarat and Maharashtra to follow up on more clues and evidence. He also said that the woman seen in the CCTV footage mentioned above had been questioned.
On Saturday, Tiwari’s mother alleged that he was killed by a local politician over a land dispute while his son demanded the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). “No one asked me what I feel, who I suspect. He (local politician) got my son killed. He is a land mafia. We had a dispute over a temple land,” Kusum Tiwari, the mother, said.
“We want the National Investigation Agency to probe the case. We do not trust anyone. My father was killed although he had security guards. How can we possibly trust the administration then?” Satyam Tiwari, the son, said.
Former leader of the Hindu Mahasabha Kamlesh Tiwari was shot dead and his throat slit in broad daylight in Lucknow on Friday.
Tiwari had earlier made highly controversial remarks involving Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested and the National Security Act (NSA) was slapped on him. Later the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court revoked the NSA against him.
This is the fourth murder of a right-wing leader this month. BJP leaders Chaudhary Yashpal Singh, Kabir Tiwari and Dhara Singh were killed on October 8, October 10 and October 13 respectively.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.