2020 Bengaluru riots accused prima facie committed terrorist act, says Karnataka High Court
Bengaluru, Apr 17: Rejecting the petition of an accused in the DJ Halli-KG Halli 2020 riots in Bengaluru, a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court has said that prima facie there was evidence to show that the acts committed by the accused were terrorist acts under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Justice M Nagaprasanna, while rejecting the petition of Mohammed Shariff, accused number 25 in the case, said there was a prima facie case against him. The high court said that the accused committing a "terrorist act" was prima facie evident.
"The allegation against the petitioner or others in common is usage of inflammable devices as there is allegation of burning of vehicles either with explosive substance or inflammable substance, loss or damage or destruction of public property, all with an intent to disturb the security of the region of the nation. Therefore, the ingredients of Section 15 of the Act, in the considered view of this Court, are prima facie met," the HC said.
Mohammed Shariff had approached the high court against the Special Judge for NIA Cases, Bengaluru taking cognisance of the offences against him. He claimed there were no offences under the UAPA which he can be accused of.
His counsel argued, "The order of the Special Court bears no application of mind as there are no allegations against the petitioner that would touch upon offences punishable under the (UAPA) Act. At best, the petitioner can be said to be alleged of offences punishable under the IPC... Therefore, the petitioner has to be tried by the jurisdictional court, either the learned Magistrate or the learned Sessions Judge. Conducting trial by the NIA Court is contrary to law."
It was contended that the "NIA Court is only concerned with offences that would become punishable as defined under Section 15 of the Act and, therefore, (I) would submit that the proceedings before the NIA Court against the petitioner be quashed and he be permitted to be tried for IPC offences before the regular Court."
The counsel for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) contended that the "acts of the accused along with others clearly comes within the definition of 'terrorist act' as defined under Section 15 of the Act."
The bail application of the petitioner was earlier declined by the high court in 2022 which had considered this issue as well.
The HC in its judgment noted that there was prima facie material against the accused.
"The investigation established the petitioner coordinating with the movements and activities of the other accused persons. He was in constant touch and was meeting the participants who conspired and decided to carry out the violent attack on the police personnel.
Therefore, there is prima facie material in the charge sheet against the petitioner for alleging the offences under the Act," the HC 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.
