Accused in nightclub fire case has fled to UK, shielded by `big guys', claims original land owner
Panaji (PTI): Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, original owner of the land on which the fire-ravaged nightclub in North Goa stood, alleged on Friday that "some big guys" were protecting Surinder Kumar Khosla, one of the accused in the case.
In an interview with PTI, Amonkar claimed that police allowed Khosla, a British national, to flee to the UK after the devastating fire at `Birch by Romeo Lane' club at Arpora village claimed 25 lives on December 6.
Amonkar has been fighting a legal battle against Khosla to get the land back from him. Goa police, who has arrested eight persons including club owners Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta, have named Khosla as an accused in the same First Information Report over the blaze. Police were still looking for Khosla, according to a senior official.
"The demolition order by the village panchayat against the club was in Khosla's name. All the complaints filed against the club named Khosla. He is the prime accused," Amonkar claimed.
But despite being the "prime accused", Khosla managed to flee the country as "some big guys are protecting him," he said, adding that the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat gave permission to the nightclub despite being informed in writing that the land did not belong to those who had sought the permission.
Amonkar recently filed a civil suit against Khosla before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High court which was converted into a Public Interest Litigation to fix accountability for the fire tragedy.
Talking about his association with Khosla, Amonkar said he had initially rented out 24 out of 107 apartments constructed on the piece of land adjacent to the club to Khosla in 2004.
According to Amonkar, six months after entering into an agreement to sell his land to Khosla, he withdrew his consent as no payment was received, but Khosla did not restore the possession to him and allowed a nightclub to be set up on the land.
Khosla was "very much in Goa" when the fire incident took place as he was supposed to attend a court hearing, said Amonkar.
He believed that the investigation was on the right track, but had some doubts as Khosla was not arrested, he said.
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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.
