Pune: A non-cognisable offence was registered against a 43-year-old American woman, who allegedly abused and assaulted a burqa-clad woman here on Sunday, police said on Monday.

The American woman is mentally disturbed and undergoing treatment, an official said. She was booked after the victim, a 27-year-old doctor, registered a complaint against her.

According to the police, the incident took place when the two women were shopping at the Clover Centre market in the Pune cantonment area. It all started when the American woman asked the victim, who was donning a burqa, whether she was a Muslim, they said.

"When the complainant replied in the affirmative, the American woman abused her and started assaulting her," said the official from the Cantonment police station.

"We have informed the US embassy about the incident," he added. He said the US-based woman is prone to engaging in abusive behaviour. "When detained, she even abused our policemen. When US embassy people spoke to her on the phone, she even abused them when they asked her about her home state," he said.

The officials said they have come to know that she lives with a Muslim man in Kondhwa. "We have registered a non-cognisable offence under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt ) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC," he said.

Non-cognisable offence refers to an offence in which the police has no authority to apprehend a person for crime on their own. Under this law, the police require a warrant to arrest an accused and a court's prior approval to begin investigation.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



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

===================

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.