NEW DELHI// India’s top police official was under fire Wednesday for saying, “If you can’t prevent rape, you might as well enjoy it.”
Central Bureau of Investigation chief Ranjit Sinha made the comment on Tuesday during a conference about illegal sports betting and the need to legalise gambling. The CBI, the country’s premier investigative agency, is India’s equivalent of the FBI.
Mr Sinha said that if the state could not stop gambling it could at least make some revenue by legalising it. His remarks about rape were in this context.
The remarks have caused outrage across India, which in the past year has been roiled by widespread protests following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi.
Mr Sinha said Wednesday that his comments were taken out of context and were misinterpreted, but angry activists called for his resignation.
Communist Party of India leader Brinda Karat said Mr Sinha’s comments were offensive to women everywhere.
“It is sickening that a man who is in charge of several rape investigations should use such an analogy,” Mr Karat said. “He should be prosecuted for degrading and insulting women.”
The New Delhi attack on the young woman last December caused nationwide outrage and forced the government to change rape laws and create fast-track courts for rape cases. New laws introduced after the attack make stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime. They also provide for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim’s death.
* Associated Press
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
ANDROID VERSION NAMES, IN ORDER
Android Alpha
Android Beta
Android Cupcake
Android Donut
Android Eclair
Android Froyo
Android Gingerbread
Android Honeycomb
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Android Jelly Bean
Android KitKat
Android Lollipop
Android Marshmallow
Android Nougat
Android Oreo
Android Pie
Android 10 (Quince Tart*)
Android 11 (Red Velvet Cake*)
Android 12 (Snow Cone*)
Android 13 (Tiramisu*)
Android 14 (Upside Down Cake*)
Android 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream*)
* internal codenames
Company profile
Name: Homie Portal LLC
Started: End of 2021
Founder: Abdulla Al Kamda
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Current number of staff: 14
Investment stage: Launch
Investors: Self-funded