Maratha quota stir: Curfew lifted in Beed; 99 people held so far for violence
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): The Beed administration on Wednesday morning lifted curfew imposed in parts of the district after violence during the Maratha quota agitation on Monday, officials said.
Prohibition orders will continue in the district, located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, and Internet services are still shut to maintain law and order, they said.
There is no relaxation in curfew in Dharashiv district as of now, the officials said.
The Beed police have registered more than 30 offences and arrested 99 people so far in connection with the violence, they said.
After violence in Beed on Monday, curfew was enforced in a periphery of 5 kilometres from the collector office, head offices of talukas along with all national highways passing through the district.
"Curfew in Beed district has been revoked by the district administration at 6 am on Wednesday. Prohibitory orders still exist in the district," an official said.
"Internet services are still shut in Beed," Collector Deepa Mudhol Munde told reporters.
Curfew is still on in Dharashiv district and a decision to revoke it will be taken after a review by the administration, an official from Dharashiv said.
On Tuesday, prohibitory orders were also imposed in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district by Collector Aastik Kumar Pandey to maintain law and order.
Nanded Collector Abhijeet Raut had also imposed prohibitory orders on Tuesday on national highways and other roads so as to keep the transport movement smooth, another official said.
Maharashtra's Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sanjay Saxena visited Beed district on Tuesday to take stock of the situation after large scale violence there during the Maratha quota agitation.
The Beed police have registered more than 30 offences and arrested 99 people so far in connection with the violence. The situation is currently under control, an official said.
ADG Saxena has been reviewing the situation in Beed. He will also submit a report about the situation to the government, the official said.
The residence of Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar group) MLA Prakash Solanke at Majalgaon town in Beed was set on fire and stones were hurled at it by a group of quota agitators on Monday morning.
The group also set ablaze a car parked at the residence after an audio clip of the MLA, in which he purportedly spoke about the Maratha quota agitation and made a veiled comment on quota activist Manoj Jarange who is on an indefinite fast, went viral.
Later, the protesters set ablaze the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building.
Another group of protesters barged into the residential premises and office of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed city and set them on fire on Monday evening.
The residence of former Maharashtra minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar in the city was also torched.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse a mob that had gathered outside the residence of NCP leader Amarsingh Pandit.
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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.
