Chinmayanand case: SC asks UP govt to produce harassed woman before it on Friday itself
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to produce before it during the day the woman law student who had gone missing after levelling harassment allegations against former Union minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, and was found in Rajasthan.
The apex court was informed by the counsel appearing for the state government that she was found in Rajasthan on Friday and was being taken to Shahjahanpur to meet her parents.
After a bench of justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna asked the state's counsel to apprise it as to when the woman can be produced before the court, the lawyer said that she, along with the police team, is enroute to Shahjahanpur and has reached Fatehpur Sikri.
The counsel said that if the court asks the authorities to produce the woman before it on Friday itself, she can be brought within two-and-a-half hours.
After hearing the submissions, the court directed the state government to produce the woman before it during the day. The bench said it would interact with the woman in-camera and the bench will assemble after that to pass appropriate orders. The top court had taken cognisance on its own in the matter after a group of lawyers had written a letter to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi requesting him to do so.
The Shahjahanpur police had on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Chinmayanand after the student went missing following her allegation in a video clip that he had been harassing her.
The woman also spoke about threat to her and her family's life in the video clip.
Her father had filed a complaint with police accusing Chinmayanand of sexually harassing her, a charge refuted by the BJP leader's lawyer who claimed it was a "conspiracy" to blackmail him.
The woman's father had alleged that she went missing at the behest of the 72-year-old BJP leader, who heads Mumukshu ashram. She is a post-graduate student in one of the colleges run by the ashram.
The group of lawyers, in a letter addressed to CJI Gogoi, had requested him to take suo motu action based on media reports that the student had gone missing for the past three days.
"Your lordships, we the undersigned members of the legal fraternity and practising lawyers of this court are extremely disturbed and concerned about the wellbeing of the girl concerned. We as a society cannot allow another 'Unnao case' to happen. This court has been interfering in letter petitions when it comes to protection of human rights," the letter said.
In the Unnao case of Uttar Pradesh, a 19-year-old woman, who levelled rape allegations against MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, had suffered critical injuries in a road accident, along with her lawyer in Raebareli district in Uttar Pradesh on July 28.
Her two aunts died in the incident and her family alleged that the accident was an attempt to eliminate her.
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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.
