Attack on minor in Ujjain was more brutal than that faced by Nirbhaya case victim: Surjewala
Indore (PTI): Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday continued to target the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh over the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Ujjain, and claimed that the attack on the Dalit minor was more brutal than that on the Nirbhaya case victim.
Surjewala visited the state-run Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar Women's Hospital in Indore, where the victim has been undergoing treatment for the last three days and underwent a complicated surgery.
Police in Ujjain city on Thursday arrested Bharat Soni, an autorickshaw driver, for allegedly raping the girl who had been found wandering on the city streets in an injured condition three days ago.
Speaking to reporters, the Congress general secretary alleged that as per the state government's direction, he was not allowed to meet the girl at the hospital, and he enquired about her well-being with the doctors treating her.
Doctors have performed a surgery on the girl, but it will probably take a month for her stitches to be removed, he said.
"From this, you can understand that this girl from a Dalit family in Satna has been tortured more than the woman in the Nirbhaya case of Delhi and her private parts have suffered serious injuries due to the heinous crime," Surjewala said.
As part of a conspiracy to cover up the case, the state government kept saying that the victim was a beggar from Uttar Pradesh. But it has now come to light that she is a student of a school and belongs to a Dalit family living in Satna, he claimed.
"Doctors have informed me that whenever the girl regains consciousness, she asks for her school uniform," the Congress leader said, claiming that she was brought to Ujjain from Satna and raped.
He further accused Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of maintaining a "mysterious and conspiratorial" silence on the matter.
"Chouhan did not visit the hospital even once to enquire about the well-being of the rape victim. Why is the chief minister missing and silent on the matter?" he asked.
Hitting out at the BJP government in the state, Surjewala said, "The truth is that Dalits and tribals in the state are no longer considered as human beings. Maximum atrocities on people from these communities have taken place under the BJP rule."
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath has decided to provide a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim's family and the party is also ready to provide free treatment to the girl at a major hospital in the National Capital Region (NCR), 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.
