Chidambaram spends night in CBI headquarters inauguration of which was attended by him
New Delhi, Aug 22: After his arrest in a corruption case, P Chidambaram spent Wednesday night in the same CBI headquarters, whose inauguration he had attended nearly eight years ago when he was the home minister in the UPA 2 government.
In 2011, the imposing glass and concrete structure became the new abode of the agency which used to work for decades from congested chambers in the CGO complex.
The building was inaugurated on April 30, 2011 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Days before the inauguration, the CBI had arrested senior Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi in CWG scam but he was not kept at the new building because of the inauguration function.
The event was attended by Chidambaram who was the then Union home minister, then Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, and then Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal.
They were taken around by the then CBI director A P Singh who showed them the facilities in the building, including the guest house in which Chidambaram is lodged.
Some officials in the agency, on a lighter note, claim that the "vastu" of the building is not right as it is believed to have been constructed on a burial ground.
Since its inauguration, all CBI chiefs have been caught in one controversy on another.
Singh and his successor Ranjit Sinha were booked by the agency in corruption cases.
Another director, Anil Sinha, faced criticism for the escape of businessman Vijay Mallya while Alok Verma was locked in a bitter battle with his deputy and was removed unceremoniously.
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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.
