Indian wrestler Antim Panghal refutes rumours of French police arresting her, her sister
New Delhi: Indian wrestler Antim Panghal has refuted rumours of her and her sister Nisha being arrested in Paris for attempting to help her siser illegally enter the Olympic Games village, clarifying that the French police, who wanted to verify her true identity, took her sister to the police station.
After Panghal lost 0-10 to Turkey’s Yetgil Zeynep, there were reports of her attempting to sneak her sister into the games village with the help of her accreditation card but was detained by the French police, NDTV has said. Panghal, in a video clip shared by NNIS Sports on Thursday, clarified that, as she had fallen ill she had visited her sister’s hotel, where the trouble started, as she asked her sister Nisha to get the things she had forgotten at the games village.
She has insisted in the video clip that neither was she nor was her sister arrested, but rumours were being spread as Wednesday ‘was just not my day’, when she first lost badly and then the talks began about her being arrested. She further said that, when Nisha found that Panghal had developed a fever after losing the wrestling match, she wanted to take her to the hotel she was staying in. Panghal’s coaches permitted her to go to the hotel as she wasn’t feeling well.
While she slept at the hotel, her sister went towards the games village to get Panghal’s remaining things. At the games village, when Nisha asked the authorities if she could do so, the authorities snatched away the young wrestler’s accreditation card from her sister and took her to the police station to confirm her identity, said Panghal.
She added that her card was returned by the police officers duly after confirming the identity of the card-holder. The news that Panghal’s coaches had a fight with a cab driver was also fake, said the wrestler, stating that the cab was booked by her. She, however, admitted that a language barrier caused a bit of problem when the coaches journeyed to the hotel to get money.
Finally, in reference to her return from Paris, Panghal said that the flight was booked by the Indian Olympics Federation. She urged people not to spread rumours about her stay in Paris.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
