Feature
Indian woman police cop express desire for sex-change surgery
Mumbai: A 29-year-old woman police constable from Maharashtra’s Beed district, who met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is awaiting the state government’s permission to undergo a sex change surgery.
Lalita Salve, who now prefers to be called Lalit, had last month sought the chief minister’s intervention.
She said her application has been forwarded to the state Director General of Police (DGP).
“I met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on March 21 in connection with my case. He assured me that the matter will be resolved on an urgent basis,” Salve, who is posted at the Majalgaon Police Station in Beed, told media persons.
“I am sure that I will get a positive response from the government,” she said.
Salve had earlier approached the state police department to allow her leave to undergo the sex-change surgery.
The police department had turned down her plea as the eligibility criteria for men and women constables are different, including height and weight.
In November last year, she had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra DGP to grant her leave to undergo the surgery.
She had sought leave for a month to undergo the sex reassignment surgery, but the request was refused by Beed police authorities, following which she approached the HC.
However, the high court had directed her to approach the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal since it was a service matter.
“I have sought permission for the sex change surgery, leave for the procedure and to be in service as a male police constable after the surgery,” she said.
Woman police constable wants permission for sex change surgery:
“I consulted doctors at the state-run J J hospital in Mumbai for the sex reassignment surgery. They also told me to get permission of the police department,” Salve said.
“Now, I am waiting for the official permission from the government,” she said.
A senior police official said since this was a “rarest of the rare” case, there should be a policy decision.
“So, we referred her case to the government and are hopeful of a positive response,” he said.
Salve’s uncle Arjun Ujagare also said that they were waiting for a go ahead from the state government.
“After her meeting with the chief minister, we are hopeful and sure that Lalita will get the official permission for surgery, allowed leave for the medical procedure and that she will be retained in the police force as a male constable,” Ujagare said.
Salve, born in June 1988, noticed changes in her body about four years ago and underwent medical tests, which confirmed the presence of Y chromosome in her body, according to her petition filed in the high court.
While men have X and Y sex chromosomes, women have two X chromosomes.
Salve later undertook counselling sessions with psychiatrists at the J J Hospital.
The doctors detected that she had a gender dysphoria abnormality and advised her to undergo a sex reassignment surgery, if she was willing to and was of sound mind, as per her petition.
Subsequently, Salve approached senior police officials and sought a month’s medical leave to undergo the surgery.
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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