An Indian man participated in a private poker game held at his house. Upon losing his stake money he wagered his wife and lost.
Stakes High: A Bet Gone Horribly Wrong
A new case of especially hideous sexual assault was reported in Uttar Pradesh, India, after a man had staked his wife as a bet in a game of poker. The crime took place in Jaunpur, a city in the province, in the house of the victim.
According to the victim, her husband’s friend Arun and a relative of his, Anil, came frequently to the house to play cards and drink. As the husband played Arun and Anil in a game of poker, he eventually ran out of money, offering his wife as a stake, local media reported.
Arun and Anil agreed. Not long after the wager had been made, the husband lost his last playing chips upon which the pair of men acted upon the agreement. Even though the victim reported the crime to the local police, the authorities failed to act without a court order, and that only took place after the husband and his friends repeated the offense.
Following the accident, the victim went to stay with her uncle. Her husband followed her there and asked to be forgiven as his actions had been “a mistake”. Convincing the victim to come back home with him, the husband pulled over the car on the way and allowed his friends to again assault his wife.
The Odds of Being Safe in India
Hideous sexual assaults have been reported all over India, and New Delhi in particular, reports about six violent sexual crimes a day. One of the most shocking such cases dates back to 2012 when a student was attacked, violated and murdered on a bus.
If India’s authorities want to do something regarding poker right, they should show toughness on crime that stakes not money, but human lives.
Sexual crimes of this kind are surprisingly unchallenged in India where local police officers are often scornful of the victims. In certain regions, women are too afraid to speak up, because they have “dishonored their families” and could be in more danger if they admitted.
A girl as young as 3 was kidnapped from a railway station and assault after which she was decapitated. Many such attacks continue to be reported all over India with the victims often coming to a fatal end with the government seeking little to no responsibility of the perpetrators of those violent acts.
Clamping Down on Poker
India is a fraught place – both socially and economically and the government has a hung-ho approach to any form of gambling. For years now, various organizations have been trying to prove that poker is a game of skill rather than a blind finger-crossed begging of the fates.
Yet, the Indian Supreme Court has been intransigent. While most provinces ban gambling outright, some sponsored events managed to make it into the country with the official sanction of provincial government.
Spartan Poker has been one of the most successful events in the country, managing to amass a fair turnout. Meanwhile, players from India have been quite prominent, with names such as Raghav Bansal, Kunal Patni, Paawan Bansal, remaining some of the best card pros in the world and the subtropical continent.
If India’s authorities want to do something regarding poker right, they should show toughness on crime that stakes not money, but human lives.
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