Unnao rape accused Sengar shares space with PM Modi in advertisement by BJP leader on I Day
Unnao (UP), Aug 16: Rape accused MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar may have been expelled from the BJP but he found a prominent place along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an advertisement given by a party leader on the occasion of Independence Day.
In the advertisement inserted in the local edition of a leading daily, Ungu Nagar Panchayat chairman Anuj Kumar Dixit used the picture of the Bangarmau legislator and his wife Sangeeta Singh Sengar, who is the chairman of the zila panchayat.
Ungu falls under the the Bangarmau assembly segment and it was Sengar who had reportedly brought Dixit into the BJP fold.
The advertisement also has pictures of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and Uttar Pradesh assembly speaker Hriday Narain Dixit.
Dixit, when approached by the media, defended himself for giving Sengar's picture.
He said, "It is there as he is the MLA of our area."
The BJP has distanced itself from the controversy.
Party spokesperson Shalabhmani Tripathi said, "It might have been someone's personal choice to give Sengar's photograph. It has nothing to do with the party or the state government."
"Whatever had to be done by the party or by the government, has been done. We have no sympathy for Sengar," he told PTI in Lucknow.
The advertisement is being seen as a fresh embarrassment to the BJP, days after its Hardoi legislator Ashish Singh Ashu sympathised with Sengar and wished him to overcome his "difficult times".
Sengar, who is in the jail for a year now, was expelled by the BJP after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against him in connection with an accident involving the Unnao rape victim's car on July 28.
Two aunts of the rape victim were killed in the accident while she, along with her lawyer, was seriously injured.
Sengar is accused of raping the girl at his residence in Unnao in 2017.
The victim was 17 years of age at the time of the incident.
A case was registered after she tried to immolate herself outside the residence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in April last year.
A day after the self-immolation bid, her father died in police custody.
After the Supreme Court took notice of the letter written by the victim's family, expressing apprehensions over their security, Sengar was shifted to the Tihar Jail in Delhi and the victim was sent to AIIMS, New Delhi, for better treatment.
On July 27, when the girl, her two aunts and lawyer were going to meet her uncle at a RaeBareli jail, their car was hit by a truck.
Her uncle has been sent to jail in a two-decade old case for allegedly beating Sengar's brother.
The victim's family had alleged that the accident was a bid to kill her.
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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.
