41 Maoists surrender to Telangana police
Hyderabad (PTI): In a major setback to the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation, 41 underground cadres, including six senior functionaries at the Company Platoon Committee and Divisional Committee levels, surrendered to Telangana police, officials said.
The cadres formally renounced violence and joined the mainstream of society, Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy said in a press release on Friday.
The surrendered ultras handed over 24 firearms, including one INSAS LMG, three AK-47 rifles, and five SLR rifles, along with 733 live rounds of ammunition of various calibres, to the police.
"The surrender represents a significant erosion of organisational strength, morale, and leadership credibility of the CPI (Maoist)," the release said.
Police said the cadres decided to surrender as the CPI (Maoist) leadership had been arbitrarily deploying members to unfamiliar and distant areas without their consent, often to regions where they lacked basic geographical knowledge and local support.
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The total eligible reward of Rs 1.46 crore will be disbursed to the surrendered cadres under the state and central relief and rehabilitation policy after completion of documentation and opening of bank accounts, the release added.
In 2025 alone, 509 underground CPI (Maoist) cadres—including two Central Committee members, 11 State Committee members, and three Divisional Committee secretaries—have surrendered to Telangana police, underscoring the steady decline of the organisation, it said.
Reddy said the CPI (Maoist) leadership has instructed its cadres to move out of Chhattisgarh and disperse to other areas until March 2026, the deadline set by the Centre for eliminating the menace.
The leadership has told cadres that security operations will be scaled down after this date, allowing them to resume underground activities.
However, the police described this assurance as misleading and a false promise.
The DGP said arbitrary deployments to unfamiliar and distant areas had caused serious mobility constraints and acute logistical difficulties, including shortages of essential day-to-day necessities.
Such conditions created growing frustration and hardship among the cadres, compelling many to disengage from the CPI (Maoist) organisation and return to the mainstream of society, he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
