Father, daughter dead as truck hits autos, pedestrians near India Gate
New Delhi: A speeding dumper truck ploughed into at least three auto-rickshaws and a scooter near India Gate in the early hours of Tuesday, killing a man and his eight-year-old daughter and injuring two, police said.
The horror unfolded shortly after midnight when the truck driver lost control of his vehicle and ran over vehicles and pedestrians before crossing the divider and landing in the lawns of the Central Delhi boulevard.
Kewal Diwan (42) and his daughter Manya (8), residents of Geeta Colony, were killed, police said. The impact was so intense that the vehicles were reduced to a mangled heap of metal.
The driver, identified as Raman (24), a resident of Badarpur, was arrested from the spot and the vehicle seized, they said.
"We received information around 12.20 am regarding the accident near India Gate on Man Singh Road. A team rushed to the spot and found that one dumper had entered Rajpath lawns (south side) after hitting several vehicles and crossing over the footpath," said a senior police officer.
Eye-witnesses told police the dumper first hit the divider after which it hit the autos and pedestrians standing near the footpath.
A man aged around 42 years was also found lying near the dumper. He was immediately shifted to hospital where he was declared brought dead. He was later identified as Kewal Diwan.
Manya was also declared brought dead to the hospital. While little remained of the auto-rickshaws, a two-wheeler was crushed under the truck, police said.
"Three injured persons were taken to hospital. Of them, one girl was declared brought dead," an official said. He added that the driver, Raman, received a fracture in his right hand.
"He has been sent to the LNJP hospital, where he is undergoing treatment and will be tested for alcohol. A case under relevant sections of the law has been registered in the case," the official said.
Those injured have been identified as Deepak Kumar (27), an auto-rickshaw driver and a resident of Mata Sundari Road, and Ram Singh (24), a labourer who was on the footpath and is a resident of Unnao in UP.
"The two are undergoing treatment," the officer added.
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.
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
===================
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.
