President gives assent to amendments to UAPA; individuals can now be declared as terrorists
New Delhi:President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent to a legislation under which individuals can be declared as terrorists and their properties seized, officials said on Friday.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 also provides for putting travel ban on such individuals once they are declared as terrorists.
The President gave his assent to the legislation late on Thursday night, a home ministry official said.
The Lok Sabha had passed the amendment Bill on July 24 and the Rajya Sabha on August 2.
India's most wanted, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, are likely to be the first two individuals to be designated as terrorists under the legislation, the officials said.
The amendments give powers to the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to attach properties acquired from proceeds of terrorism.
Earlier, the law required that the NIA take prior permission from the respective state police chief to attach the proceeds of terrorism. This delays the process as often such properties are in different states, another official said.
Earlier, officers in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and above were empowered to investigate cases under the UAPA as per Section 43. Now, officers in the rank of Inspector are empowered to do so.
The inspector-rank officers have over time acquired sufficient proficiency to investigate UAPA-related cases and this move would quicken the delivery of justice in such cases, which are reviewed by senior officers at various levels.
Home Minister Amit Shah had said the law, that would be used only to tackle terror, would help agencies remain four steps ahead of terrorists.
Shah said terrorist acts are committed not by organisations but by individuals.
Declaring an organisation as a terrorist organisation will not stop the individuals behind it.
Not designating individuals as terrorists would give them an opportunity to circumvent the law and they would simply gather under a different name and keep up their terror activities, he said.
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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.
