English cricket figure under police probe for alleged drink spiking, sexual assault
London (PTI): A prominent personality in English cricket is under police investigation over allegations of drink spiking and sexual assault involving two women.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the man, said to be in his 40s, was interviewed under caution by Scotland Yard in June following a complaint linked to an incident at a pub in south-west London’s SW6 district, which includes Fulham and Parsons Green.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is yet to comment.
"We are currently investigating allegations of spiking and sexual assault against two women that took place on Thursday, 22 May at a pub in the SW6 area," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
"Two women are believed to have been spiked with one also allegedly sexually assaulted. A man in his 40s was interviewed under caution on Thursday, 5 June. Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage."
The case has emerged at a time when cricket’s authorities are under pressure to address misconduct in the game.
Chris Haward, managing director of the Cricket Regulator — the independent body tasked with handling disciplinary cases — stressed last month: "Removing sexual misconduct from the game is a priority."
In the past year, the Regulator has charged two coaches in unrelated incidents. One was suspended for up to nine months in August for sending "sexualised and inappropriate" photos to junior female staff members, while another faced a six-month suspension last November for "inappropriate sexual behaviour" during a county pre-season tour.
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Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
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The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
