“Our brother Kuldeep going through difficult times”: BJP MLA on rape accused
LUCKNOW: A BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh has come out in support of his expelled colleague and rape accused Kuldeep Sengar, who is in jail for over a year for allegedly raping a teenage girl two years ago.
Ashish Singh Ashu, BJP lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi, was seen in a video talking about Kuldeep Sengar facing "difficult times" and how he wished his colleague would walk out from jail soon.
"Our brother Kuldeep Singh could not be here among us today as he is going through difficult times. Out best wishes are with him. We hope that he will overcome the bad times, fight through it and come out of it and be with all of you. Wherever we are, our best wishes are with him," Mr Ashu said on Friday at a panchayat event near Unnao, the hometown of the expelled BJP leader who allegedly raped the teenage girl in June 2017 when she had come looking for a job.
The BJP expelled Kuldeep Sengar from the party on Thursday amid waves of public outrage over the rape survivor's ordeal - from losing her father in police custody to two aunts dying in a road accident. One of the aunts was also a witness in the rape case.
The Unnao rape survivor and her lawyer were critically wounded and two of her relatives were killed in a car crash involving a speeding truck, which had its number plate painted black, over a week ago. The girl is still critical and on the ventilator.
The Supreme Court has said four cases linked to the Unnao rape survivor would be transferred out of Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, after the family wrote to the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi alleging threats from the jailed lawmaker.
A CBI team investigating charges in the Unnao case has also asked for details of the politician's visitors in jail after the family alleged the four-time legislator had engineered the road accident and was allegedly calling the shots from jail.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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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.
