TThe first four months of this year haven’t been good for the Pernem police. All three of the cases booked against matka bookies ended in acquittals because the cops failed to record the statement of independent witnesses. The court, in all three cases, ruled that seizure of matka material was not sufficient to convict the bookie. This failure points to a glaring lack of investigation procedure or knowledge of the evidence act.
A matka case should be one of the easiest one to book and prosecute because this sort of gambling takes place in the open and is patronised by locals. That the Pernem police failed to
get a conviction in at least one of the cases is a huge set back.
Perhaps, this was done deliberately because of the contradiction
that exists in gambling laws in the state. While the government
promotes casino gambling it frowns upon matka. It
has also been acknowledged that matka provides livelihoods
to a large number of families and stamping it out without providing
alternate sources of income to the affected families
would create unrest. Matka has existed and flourished in the
state for decades, but as long as it is illegal in the eyes of the
law, the police are bound to book cases against its agents. And
the least the police can do is follow proper procedure and ensure
convictions, or put an end to this farce of booking cases
just to show that they are doing a good job.
