Gangraped minor girl tonsured, paraded in Bihar
Patna: Members of a panchayat in Bihar's Gaya district "punished" a gangraped minor girl by tonsuring her head and parading her through the village, a police officer said here on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old girl was kidnapped by residents of her village on August 14 and gangraped, sources in the police headquarters said. The girl narrated the incident to her parents who then approached the local panchayat for justice two days later.
However, the members of the panchayat accused the girl of making unfounded allegations against the accused, who enjoy clout in the area, and punished the minor by tonsuring and parading her through the village, they said.
The incident came to light when the victim and her parents lodged a telephonic complaint with the office of the Director General of Police a week after the panchayat's verdict.
Six people, including five members of the panchayat, were arrested on August 26 after recording the statements of the victim and her parents, Mohanpur SHO Ravi Bhushan said.
Gaya Mahila Thana in-charge Ravi Ranjana said the arrested persons have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days after being produced before a designated court while the girl's statement was recorded before a magistrate after her medical examination.
She said the girl is yet to recover from the trauma but has been able to identify one of the accused.
Meanwhile, the state women commission has shot off a missive to Gaya police chief, demanding speedy justice to the victim besides summoning the five panchayat members.
"It is a very serious matter. We have asked the Gaya SSP to ensure that the accused are awarded strict punishment and the victim gets justice. We have asked the five panchayat members to appear before us and explain why such an inhuman treatment was meted out to a minor girl," State Women Commission Chairperson Dilmani Mishra said.
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.
