Feature
Delhi school girl delivers baby in school washroom, raped by auto driver
New Delhi: A 16-year-old Class 10th student allegedly raped by an auto driver for eight months gave birth to a premature girl at her school’s washroom in northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar on Thursday.
Police said the girl was impregnated by the 51-year-old neighbour, who raped her eight times in as many months.
The auto driver was arrested on Friday after a case under sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him at the Mukherjee Nagar police station.
The man, identified as Abdul Gaffar, allegedly admitted to his crime. He claimed said he would pay her Rs 500 to Rs 800 every time he raped her.
The girl’s parents or her teachers and classmates were unaware of her 26-week pregnancy. She had been suffering from stomach pain for the past few days. Gaffar had given her abortion pills after he learnt she was pregnant, police said.
A police officer said the girl was writing an exam in the school when she developed labour pain. When she complained of stomach pain, the teacher asked her to go to the washroom.
Minutes later, the girl delivered a baby girl in the washroom. The school administration informed the girl’s parents, who had no clue how she became pregnant. The authorities rushed the girl and her pre-mature baby to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
Milind Dumbre, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), said the condition of the girl and her daughter was out of danger and stable.
After the girl gained consciousness, she narrated her ordeal to the police. She said she was being raped by her neighbour for the past eight months.
“Even though her belly had protruded, the family did not suspect anything. They thought that she was suffering from gas-related issues,” said the officer.
The man said after she complained of stomach ache, he gave her abortion pills, which could have created complications, the police said.
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.