Lok Sabha polls: Rs 540-crore suspect cash, liquor and freebies seized across country
New Delhi: Suspect cash, illegal liquor and drugs worth about Rs 540 crore have been seized across the country since parliamentary election schedule was announced by the Election Commission a fortnight ago, official data showed Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu recorded the maximum seizure of these illegal inducements, suspected to have been routed and used to bribe voters, worth Rs 107.24 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh Rs 104.53 crore, Andhra Pradesh Rs 103.4 crore and Punjab Rs 92.8 crore.
Karnataka saw the total seizure of inducements and cash worth Rs 26.53 crore, Maharashtra Rs 19.11 crore and Telangana Rs 8.2 crore.
An Election Commission official said the total value of seized items was Rs 539.99 crore.
The polls were declared by the Election Commission on March 10 and as per data updated till March 25, a total of Rs 143.37 crore suspect cash, Rs 89.64 crore worth of liquor, drugs valued at Rs 131.75 crore, gold and other precious metals worth Rs 162.93 crore and other freebies of Rs 12.20 crore have been seized, the EC data for all states for Lok Sabha polls said.
The EC has deployed hundreds of general observers, expenditure observers and static and mobile surveillance teams in the country to keep a check on flow of black money and other illegal gratification so that the level playing field of holding fair polls is not disturbed.
The seven phase polls will begin from April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23.
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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.
