Rajasthan govt announces cash rewards for Paralympic medal winners
Shooter Avani Lekhara to get Rs 3 crore
Jaipur, (PTI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday congratulated three Paralympic medal winners from the state, announcing cash rewards of up to Rs 3 crore for each of them.
Shooter Avani Lekhara, who has won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, will be given a cash reward of Rs 3 crore, while javelin throwers Devendra Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar will get Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively for winning silver and bronze medals.
All the three players from Rajasthan have already been appointed to the post of assistant conservator of forest in the state forest department.
"The players of the state have brought laurels to the country and the state by winning medals, we are very proud of them," Gehlot tweeted.
Lekhara scripted history on Monday as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.
The 19-year-old from Jaipur, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012, finished with a world record equalling total of 249.6, which is also a new Paralympic record.
"Heartiest Congratulations to Jaipur's Avani Lekhara for winning first ever Gold for India in ShootingParaSport! What a superb performance by her in Women's 10m AR Standing SH1 Final as she created history! Entire nation is very proud of her. It's a great day for Indian sports!" Gehlot tweeted earlier in the day.
Two-time gold-winning javelin throw veteran Jhajharia clinched a stupendous third Paralympic medal, a silver this time, while Gurjar won a bronze in the men's javelin throw F46 final.
The chief minister congratulated the two, calling it a "marvellous moment".
"We are so proud of Rajasthan's Paralympic javelin throwers Devendra Jhajharia, who grabbed Silver & Sundar Singh Gurjar for claiming Bronze at Men's Javelin Throw event, TokyoParalympics. It's a marvelous moment. Heartiest Congratulations to Dev Jhajharia & Sundar S Gurjar!" he said in another tweet.
Gehlot also hailed Yogesh Kathuniya for winning a silver medal in Men's Discus Throw F56.
"It's great news for all of us. The nation is so proud!" he tweeted.
Kathuniya, a B.Com graduate from New Delhi's Kirorimal College, sent the disc to a best distance of 44.38m in his sixth and last attempt to clinch the silver.
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Malaysian Indian sentenced to jail and caning for raping Indonesian woman in Singapore
Singapore (PTI): An Indian-origin Malaysian man was sentenced in Singapore to 12 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for raping a domestic worker outside a train station after tricking her into thinking that he was a police officer.
Sharveen Chetty, 48, pleaded guilty on February 4 to one charge of raping the 35-year-old Indonesian woman in the bushes outside Exit F of a subway, Little India Mass Rapid Transit station, at about 8pm on July 11, 2022.
The victim was with her friends at the time, but Chetty lured her away before he sexually assaulted her, according to a report by The Straits Times on Thursday.
Two other charges – a second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer – were taken into consideration during sentencing on Wednesday.
The witnesses who testified on the first day of the trial included a doctor from Women’s and Children’s Hospital who examined the victim a day after the rapes, and forensic scientists from the Health Sciences Authority.
Chetty had initially contested the charges in a High Court trial that began on February 3. But he changed his mind and pleaded guilty on what would have been the second day of the trial, according to the daily report.
In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill considered it aggravating that Chetty had targeted the victim because she was a foreigner who might be unfamiliar with the local authorities.
The judge rejected the defence's arguments that the rape was not premeditated.
The judge, however, noted that Chetty had pleaded guilty before the victim and key prosecution witnesses testified, thus sparing her and her friends from going through cross-examination.
The prosecution had sought a sentence of between 11 and 13 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane, noting Chetty’s extensive efforts to disguise himself, and his predatory act of leading the victim away from the rest of the group.
Chetty admitted that he became sexually attracted to the victim.
