log on to thegoan.net Facebook.com/thegoan @thegoanonline SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2024 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore) 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO. 248 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 MOVIES »PAGE 16 PLAY & PAUSE »PAGE 13 LIVE SMART »PAGE 14 NOT LESS THAN A FAIRY TALE SKIRT GUIDE The Right Move SPORTS »PAGE 8 England spinners Bashir, Hartley pile pressure on India BABY SKIN BLISS 3 tips to deal with difficult situations in life WPL: RCB score narrow two-run win over UP Warriorz Actress reveals that written dialogues were too clean & logical CHANDU’S CHEAT DAY >> SEE PG 3 ANJUNA ACTION: BETWEEN LAW AND LIVELIHOODS MAGAZINE MAGAZ OpenAI’s Sora could revolutionise marketing & content creation Invoking the criminal law to imbibe religious tolerance Spring skin, hair care and youthful make-up 10 Vaping alert: What every teen and parent need to know! Beyond the nine-to-five: A deep dive into the creator economy 11 Bike Review: Hero Maverick 440: A bold new hero of motorcycles IN SHORT >> Cyber crook fleeces ` 70L from Curca local PANAJI: A person from Curca was duped to the tune of Rs 70 lakh by a cyber criminal posing as TRAI employee. Complaint to this effect has been filed against unidentified miscreant at Cybercrime Police Station. ISRO chairman in Goa on Feb 26 PANAJI: Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation Dr S Somanath will once again be in Goa to deliver a public lecture on Scientific and Explorations Missions at a national symposium scheduled on February 26. >> See pg 5 Dhargal locals rise against cement plant PERNEM: Residents of Dhargal are up in arms against an allegedly illegal cement plant at the Dhargal industrial estate that has been causing dust and smoke pollution. They have alleged that the plant lacks permission from the panchayat to operate but is continuing to function. Here are five pillars to transform a career advancement cell Congress to contest both Lok Sabha seats in Goa AAP, CONGRESS SEAL SEAT-SHARING DEAL JOINT STATEMENT ISSUED IN DELHI THE GOAN I NETWORK 9 A look at different types of skirts that will add an aesthetic touch to your wardrobe PANAJI The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, the two constituents of the INDIA bloc alliance who have representation in the Goa legislature on Saturday jointly announced that both the Goa Lok Sabha seats -- North and South Goa -- will be contested by the former in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. The announcement was made in Delhi by leadership teams of both the parties led by AICC General Secretary Mukul Wasnik of the Congress and AAP's General Secretary (Organisation) and Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Sandeep Pathak. The deal means AAP will not go ahead with its plan of contesting on its own the South Goa seat, where it had earlier announced it would field its Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas. Meanwhile here in Goa, AAP's State convenor Amit FINALLY, IT’S A DONE DEAL Announcement made in Delhi by AICC General Secretary Mukul Wasnik and AAP's General Secretary (Organisation) and RS MP, Dr Sandeep Pathak AAP will not contest on its own the South Goa seat, where it had announced Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas as its candidate AAP-Cong leaders in Goa also hold joint press conference Palekar-Patkar duo say two support bases will help Cong to emerge victorious in both seats Opposition parties in Goa urged to join forces to defeat BJP Palekar and GPCC president Amit Patkar addressed a joint press conference where they said the coming together of the two support bases will help to emerge victorious in both the seats. “We call other parties in Goa to join our force to defeat BJP; seat sharing has been worked out during INDI Alliance meet,” the Palekar-Pat- kar duo said. Palekar said AAP in Goa has cleared the way in the interest of the alliance and to achieve the principal goal of fighting and defeating the BJP. “We want all those MLAs who had asked votes against the BJP in 2022 election to support INDIA alliance candidate,” Patkar said Both Palekar and Patkar Eyeing an illicit connect: Child pregnancies & girl grooming URGENT CALLS FOR ACTION AND AWARENESS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI This year’s two cases of child pregnancies have yet again sparked debate surrounding the safety and well-being of young girls and teenagers, particularly in view of a concerning trend of ‘grooming’. With an alarming increase in cases spanning five years, the police and the assisting units have recorded numerous cases involving men including those married with families, grooming vulnerable girls into illicit relationships. Details with The Goan reveal that a maximum of 16 cases were reported last calendar year while the cases varied between 10 and 13 from 2019 to 2022. This year has already reported two cases with one victim child having already given birth. Victim Assistance Unit (VAU) in charge in Goa, Emidio Pinho revealed that these perpetrators manipulate their young victims by making THE CYCLE OF ABUSE Perpetrators manipulate young victims by making them believe they are initiators of the relationship Builds trust and emotional connect and manages to convince his victim that she is solely responsible for her actions The accused creates a sense of guilt and obligation in her to continue the relationship Psychological manipulation leaves the girl feeling like the perpetrator and the real accused as the victim them believe they are the initiators of the relationship. “The perpetrator builds trust and emotional connect and manages to convince his victim that she is solely responsible for their actions. The accused creates a sense of guilt and obligation in her to continue the relationship. This psychological manipulation leaves the girl feeling like the perpetrator and the real accused as the victim. This cycle of abuse is becoming a common phenomenon in Goa,” he said speaking to The Goan. There are instances where the accused have children of similar age to their victims. Pinho has emphasized the urgent need for the government to recognize ‘grooming’ as a serious punishable offense, which, he explained, will prevent further action of sexual assault and rape. The police have also shockingly come across many cases where some victims, out of fear and shame, hide their >Continued on P6 36% candidates eyeing Rajya Sabha seats have criminal cases, shows ADR report AGENCIES NEW DELHI hirty-six percent of Rajya Sabha candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while the average assets of candidates analysed stood at Rs 127.81 crore, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The ADR and the National Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 58 out of the 59 candidates in the fray for 56 seats in 15 States. The Rajya Sabha polls are scheduled for February 27. Congress candidate from Karnataka G C Chandrashekar was omitted from the analysis T ROAD TO RAJYA SABHA 17% face serious criminal charges One candidate has cases related to attempted murder Approximately 21% candidates are billionaires Average assets of Rajya Sabha candidates stand at Rs 127.81 cr BJP's MP candidate Balyogi Umesh Nath is the poorest with assets worth over Rs 47 lakh 17% candidates have educational qualifications ranging from 5th pass to 12th pass 79% hold graduate or higher degrees 76% fall in the 51-70 age group while 16% are in the 31-50 age group due to poorly scanned documents. The analysis found that 36 per cent of the scrutinised can- didates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Additionally, 17 per cent of these individuals face serious criminal charges with one candidate having cases related to attempted murder. Approximately 21 per cent are billionaires, boasting of assets exceeding Rs 100 crore. The average assets of Rajya Sabha candidates stand at Rs 127.81 crore. Congress nominee from Himachal Pradesh Abhishek Manu Singhvi with total assets worth Rs 1,872 crore, Samajwadi Party nominee from Uttar Pradesh Jaya Amitabh Bachchan with assets worth Rs 1,578 crore and JD(S) nominee from Karnataka Kupendra Reddy with assets amounting to Rs 871 crore are among the top three wealthiest candidates, according to the analysis. also said that the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) will also be approached to join the fight against the BJP. Patkar said: “I still appeal to them to come with INDIA alliance.” The Congress-AAP deal announced by Wasnik in Delhi also includes seat sharing in four other States and Union Territories -- Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat. While AAP will contest four and the Congress three of the seven Delhi seats, in Haryana AAP will fight on one seat. Chandigarh will be contested by the Congress and in Gujarat, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will contest on two seats -- Baruch and Bhavnagar. “In 26 seats in Gujarat, Congress will contest in 24 and AAP on two – in Bharuch and Bhavnagar. In 10 seats in Haryana, Congress will contest in nine seats and AAP in one, at Kurukshetra,” Wasnik said. >Continued on P6 New criminal justice laws to come into force from July 1 PTI NEW DELHI The newly enacted laws -Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Act -- to completely overhaul the criminal justice system in the country will come into effect from July 1. However, the provision related to cases of hit and run by vehicle drivers will not be implemented immediately. The three laws got the Parliament's approval on December 21 last year and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25. According to three identical notifications issued by the Union home ministry, provisions of the new laws will come into force from July 1. The laws will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 respectively. The three legislations aim at completely overhauling the criminal justice system in the country by giving definitions of various offences and their punishments. The government, however, has decided not to implement the provision related to cases of hit and run as promised to truckers. AFTER 30 HOURS OF SEARCH… BODY OF VICTIM FOUND FLOATING OFF PANAJI JETTY DEATH DUE TO DROWNING, BLUNT FORCE IMPACT ON HEAD, REVEALS AUTOPSY THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The body of 38-year-old Javed Sadekar was recovered from River Mandovi on Friday morning, ending nearly 30 hours of search after he was hurled into the river when a rent-a-car collided with his bike on the bridge. The autopsy ascertained his death as due to drowning and blunt force impact on the head. BRIDGE MISHAP Sadekar’s body was found floating opposite the Old Secretariat – close to a casino office. “The fire personnel retrieved his body, and it was sent to the Goa Medical College for a post-mortem. The forensic doctors concluded cerebral damage and drowning as cause for the death,” said Panaji police. The victim, who leaves behind his wife and three minor sons, was en route to his Fire personnel retrieved Sadekar’s body that was found floating opposite the Old Secretariat, close to a casino office, and later sent it to the Goa Medical College for a post-mortem workplace when he became a victim of drunken and reckless driving. The accident on the bridge occurred around 5.20 pm on Thursday and the search and rescue operations were launched soon after. The arrested accused driver from Odisha Ankit Triparty was on Friday remanded to three days of judicial custody. Triparty who was detained soon after the accident, is booked under Sec 304-A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, and 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The new Goa, with a broader profile of people from different parts of India and the world, needs not just a strong local paper but a complete paper. The Goan on Saturday will connect to and be a viable and comprehensive read for locals, other Indians in Goa, NRI and foreigners. It will also be a bridge for Goans in other parts of India all over the world to their home land. The Goan is published by Goa's most reputed industrial houses.