NDTV founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy not allowed to leave India
Mumbai, Aug 9: News television network NDTV's founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika, who are facing a corruption case, were detained at the city airport Friday evening and prevented from flying abroad.
In a statement, the leading media company said both were stopped from traveling abroad on the basis of "a fake and wholly unsubstantiated corruption case initiated by CBI" two years ago.
Both of them were traveling to an undisclosed destination and were scheduled to return on August 16, the company said.
"Today's action is, along with events like raids on media owners, a warning to the media to fall in line- or else," the company said, hinting of intimidation.
This is "a complete subversion of basic rights," the company said.
The statement also identified the two founders as "journalists" but did not specify the reasons for travel.
It was not immediately clear as to which law enforcement agency has detained them.
The Mumbai airport spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
The action comes months after Naresh Goyal, the promoter of the bankrupt carrier Jet Airways, was also stopped from flying abroad from the city airport after the ED registered a case of money laundering against him.
The development also comes over two years after the Roys were searched by the CBI in a alleged bank fraud.
The news network, which has been credited with pioneering television news in the country, had then called the action as a "witch hunt".
"We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech," the news company had said in a statement then.
The Editors Guild had also expressed its concern in the matter.
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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.
