Uzbek GM Yakubboev declines hand-shake with Vaishali due to religious reasons; apologises later
Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands), Jan 27 (PTI): Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev's refusal to shake hands with Indian GM R Vaishali stirred up a controversy at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament before the Uzbek apologised, saying that he meant no disrespect and didn't respond to the gesture because of "religious reasons".
In a video shared by ChessBase India on social media, Vaishali can be seen extending her hand before the start of a fourth-round contest against Yakubboev, who sat down without responding to it, leaving the Indian visibly awkward.
Yakubboev, 23, who became a GM in 2019, lost the match and is currently on three points after eight rounds in the Challengers' section.
Once the short video went viral, Yakubboev posted a lengthy response on 'X' saying, he had all the respect for Vaishali and her younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa but he "does not touch other women due to religious reasons."
"I want to explain the situation that happened in the game with Vaishali. With all due respect to women and Indian chess players, I want to inform everyone that I do not touch other women for religious reasons," wrote Yakubboev, who is a practising Muslim.
Vaishali did not offer her hand after beating the Uzbek player. The Indian is on four points after eight rounds with five more to go.
"I respect Vaishali and her brother as the strongest chess players in India. If I have offended her with my behavior, I apologise. I have some additional explanations:
1. Chess is not haram," Yakubboev wrote.
"I do what I need to do. I do not insist others not to shake hands with the opposite gender or for women to wear hijab or burqa. It is their business what to do," he explained.
Yakubboev said that in order to avoid such a situation in the eighth-round game against Romania's Irina Bulmaga, he informed her in advance about his religious beliefs.
"Today (Sunday) I told Irina Bulmaga about it. She agreed to it. But when I came to the playing hall, the arbiters told me that I should at least do Namaste as a gesture. In the games with Divya and Vaishali I couldn't tell them about it before the game and there was an awkward situation," he added.
Another Uzbek player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is playing in the 'Open' section of the tournament.
😰 Nouveau scandale dans le monde des échecs ♟ Dans le tournoi Challengers du Tata Steel Chess, le joueur ouzbek arrive en retard et refuse de serrer la main de la joueuse indienne.
— Échecs & Stratégie (@Chess_Strategy) January 26, 2025
Le grand-maître Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 2659) affrontait la grand-maître R Vaishali (IND, 2476)… pic.twitter.com/UyIO1aZoRm
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
