Connect with us

Feature

Congress women’s wing Apsara Reddy supports rape accused candidate

Published

on

Apsara Reddy, Atanasio Babush Monserrate, Congress, Rape accused, Panaji Assembly bypoll, Goa, Regional news

Panaji: The national General Secretary of the All India Mahila Congress, Apsara Reddy, on Wednesday backed the candidature of her party’s candidate for the May 19 Panaji Assembly bypoll, who was charge sheeted in 2018 for allegedly raping a minor girl.

 

Apsara Reddy, Atanasio Babush Monserrate, Congress, Rape accused, Panaji Assembly bypoll, Goa, Regional news

 

Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters here, Reddy said that Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate “truly believed in putting women in leadership roles,” referring to the fact that his wife Jennifer was a Congress MLA from Taleigao.

 

Apsara Reddy, Atanasio Babush Monserrate, Congress, Rape accused, Panaji Assembly bypoll, Goa, Regional news

 

When she was asked to comment on the string of criminal cases against Monserrate, including for the alleged rape of a minor girl in 2016 for which he was chargesheeted in 2018, Reddy said that cases were often foisted on politicians who were popular.

 

v

 

“When a political candidate becomes very popular, many cases are foisted on him. I am not saying he is innocent. I am not saying he is guilty either. Wait till the law takes its own course. It is wrong to paint a person in one way based on conjecture, rumour and media reports,” Reddy said.

 

Congress women’s wing secretary Apsara Reddy backs rape accused candidate:

 

Last year Monserrate was chargesheeted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 506 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

 

Apsara Reddy, Atanasio Babush Monserrate, Congress, Rape accused, Panaji Assembly bypoll, Goa, Regional news

 

Meanwhile, the state BJP on Wednesday said that Monserrate, as well as the Congress, should publish a list of crimes in which he was involved in print media as mandated by the electoral rules.

“We demand that they (Congress) publish his long list of crimes in the media so that people know their options well before voting,” BJP spokesperson Damodar Naik said.

 

Apsara Reddy, Atanasio Babush Monserrate, Congress, Rape accused, Panaji Assembly bypoll, Goa, Regional news

 

Monserrate is pitted against Sidharth Kuncalienkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subhash Velingkar of the Goa Suraksha Manch and Valmiki Naik of the Aam Aadmi Party.

 

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

Published

on

By

PureWin Online Betting

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.

Continue Reading

Trending