LUCKNOW: The hero's welcome given to the men accused of inciting the violence in Bulandshahr -- in which a police officer was killed last December -- was no big deal, the Uttar Pradesh government said today. Seven of the 33 men accused in the case were released on bail last week, and were welcomed with garlands and chants of "Jai Shri Ram" by right-wing activists.
Those released on bail on Saturday included Shikhar Agarwal, the former chief of the local BJP youth wing, Hemu and Upendra Raghav, who are part of a right-wing group, a former army man identified as Jeetu Fauji, Saurav and Rohit Raghav. The videos of the welcome party, shot by local reporters, triggered opposition outrage after they were circulated on social media.
"If supporters of people who have been released from jail welcome them, the government and BJP have nothing to do with it. The Opposition should not make a mountain out of a molehill," Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister KP Maurya was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The men were accused of inciting violence at a village after carcasses of 25 cows were found in a nearby forest area in December last year.
Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was attacked by a mob of around 400 people when he went to restore calm in the area. The police said a man armed with an axe chopped of two of his fingers and hit him on the head. Others shot him. His body was found inside his official police vehicle, abandoned in a field.
A cellphone video of the attack later surfaced, in which a crowd could be seen opening fire and shouting "goli maaro".
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered a quick probe by a Special Investigation Team. Later, five men were accused of murder and 33 others were accused of inciting violence and arson. The SIT had submitted a 3,400-page case diary and 103-page charge sheet against the 38 accused.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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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.
