SC to transfer rape case involving BJP MLA out of UP, ask CBI officer to appear before 12 noon
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday made clear it will transfer the rape case involving BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar out of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh and summoned a "responsible" CBI officer before it by 12 noon to provide details of the probe conducted so far in the sensational matter.
The top court also refused a plea of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI that the matter be adjourned to 10:30am on Friday, as the officers probing the Unnao cases were out of Delhi.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected Mehta's contention, saying the CBI director can gather the information of the cases on telephone and apprise the bench on Thursday.
The bench directed Mehta to ensure the presence of a responsible officer at 12 noon before it to give details on the probe conducted so far in the rape and the subsequent accident case.
"We are going to transfer all the cases. We will pass the order to this effect," said the bench, comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.
It was taken up as the first item by the top court, which said as both the matters have been transferred to the CBI, it would pass orders in the case later in the day after knowing the details from a responsible CBI officer.
On Wednesday, the court had taken cognisance of the rape victim's letter to the CJI and had sought a report from its secretary general why it had not been brought to his notice since July 17.
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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.
