Gujarat HC, several district courts and govt offices get bomb threats; nothing suspicious found
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat High Court, several district courts and some collector offices in the state received bomb threats through emails on Tuesday, prompting the authorities to conduct thorough searches, in which nothing suspicious was found anywhere, officials said.
Apart from the HC, four district courts and two collector offices received bomb threats, while a sessions court in Ahmedabad reported a similar threat on Monday, they said.
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"The Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad received an email threatening to blow up its premises using RDX. Police personnel, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and a dog squad conducted a thorough search of the premises after evacuating the building. No suspicious material was found," Sola police station inspector K N Bhukan said.
Following the security checks, entry into the court premises was resumed, Bhukan added.
The district collector's office in Gandhinagar, the state capital, received a bomb threat on Tuesday.
"An email was received directing the evacuation of the premises by lunch time. Police were immediately alerted, and a comprehensive search of the office was carried out," an official from the Gandhinagar collector office said.
The BDDS later confirmed that no suspicious items were found at the site, the official said.
Similar bomb threats were also reported by the courts in Surat, Anand, Rajkot and Bharuch, as well as the collector's office in Bharuch.
The Ahmedabad City Civil and Sessions Court had also received a similar bomb threat through email on Monday, they said.
In all these cases, security agencies conducted checks, but did not find any suspicious material.
Police have launched an investigation to identify the sender of the threatening emails.
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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.
