The Gambling Act 2020 BS, formulated at a time when casinos did not exist in the country, has a provision for imposing a fine of Rs 300 on any Nepali national operating a gambling pit of any sort. [break]
The law has remained unchanged through the decades while the casinos that were meant only for foreign nationals have grown to swallow up immeasurable property belonging to Nepali nationals.
“The law is pretty skimpy for curbing the flow of Nepali nationals into casinos,” admitted Superintendent of Police (SP) Puskar Karki, chief of Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK). “The law also has loopholes.”
Partial enforcement
The casinos are about to celebrate their golden jubilees but the history of casino operators getting chastised for allowing in Nepali nationals goes back no more than a couple of months. And it is just a matter of Rs 300.
Meanwhile, Nepali nationals have been arrested from casinos for an unrecorded number of times and released against a fine of Rs 200 as per the Gambling Act.
The first ever imposition of the anti-gambling law on casino operators took place on 24 November 2010 when MPRK hauled in five casino operators allegedly for entertain Nepali nationals. It was not, however, a case of police officials mustering the courage to go after those who counld not be touched before. Neither was it planned well as required by such sensitive investigations.
“Then MPRK chief Ramesh Kharel had taken the initiative as questions were being raised why he did not touch the casino operators,” said a police official closely familiar with the case. “He happened to pick up five casino general managers for legal action.”
“Wadha and other bigwigs like Kishor Rana and Raj Bahadur Singh remained untouched,” he added.
It was on November 26 that the then acting chief of MPRK, SP Bhog Bahadur Thapa, who was looking after the Hanumandhoka office during Kharel´s absence, circulated an arrest warrant against Wadha as it was feared he was fleeing the country.
Thapa circulated the arrest warrant under pressure built up by certain media reports, officials said.
Since then, MPRK has brought some cases against Wadha following arrests of Nepali nationals from different casinos.Tara Casino general manager Manoj Subedi and Harka Bahadur Aair, Sangrila Casino general manager, were arrested and handed over to the DIR. Both have since been released.
Police officials still wonder how Wadhaw was able to escape the police the night of November 26. “I think Wadha was informed about our moves,” said an official involved in the raid.
Some former in-charges at MPRK, requesting anonymity, conceded to Republica that they used the law selectively against Nepali nationals arrested in sporadic raids at casinos because they were never allowed by the ´higher authorities´ to get at those who operated the casinos.
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