Road, rail traffic disrupted in Bengal; fresh scuffles between cops and BJP workers
Kolkata: BJP activists blocked road and rail traffic at several places on Monday during a 12-hour bandh called by the party in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district to protest attacks on its leaders, police said.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, meanwhile, visited BJP MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh, who is recuperating at a private hospital after he suffered injuries during a protest on Sunday, and expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state.
"I was in Delhi. I cut short my visit to meet Arjun Singh this morning as there has been a serious incident. I am worried at the moment," Dhankar told reporters.
Shops and other business establishments remained closed during the day, causing inconvenience to people. Fresh scuffles broke out between police and BJP workers at Lakuthi and on Barrackpore-Barasat Road when protesters tried to forcibly cross barricades.
According to a senior officer at Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, some BJP workers and policemen were injured in the melee. Naihati-Chinsurah ferry services were also affected as agitators demonstrated at jetties. The BJP on Sunday gave a call for a 12-hour bandh to protest alleged attacks on its leaders, including the Sunday's assault on MP Arjun Singh.
Singh claimed Barrackpore police commissioner Manoj Verma struck him, causing a gash on his head, while he and his supporters were holding a "peaceful protest" at Kankinara in the district against the "capture" of its party office by Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists.
After meeting Singh, the governor said,"I am in pain looking at all this violence. I feel pain when something happens to teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists."
West Bengal is witnessing an unending spiral of violence since the Lok Sabha polls. In the northern fringes of Kolkata, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was reportedly heckled by the ruling party supporters on Friday.
On the same day, Bongaon North MLA Biswajit Das, who recently switched over to the BJP from the TMC, was also allegedly assaulted, while he was on his way to the Assembly.
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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.
