'Drugs on cruise': NCB files chargesheet; gives clean chit to Aryan Khan, five others
New Delhi/Mumbai(PTI): The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in the October 2021 'drugs on cruise' case in which he was arrested last year.
Officials of the NCB, which filed its chargesheet in a Mumbai court, said Aryan Khan and five others had not been named due to "lack of sufficient evidence".
Asserting that its special investigation team (SIT) carried out its probe in an "objective manner", the federal anti-drugs agency said in a statement in Delhi that "the touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied".
"Based on the investigation carried out by the SIT, a complaint against 14 persons under various sections of the NDPS Act is being filed (before a Mumbai court). Complaint against rest 6 persons is not being filed due to lack of sufficient evidence," it said.
It added that eight people were arrested by the NCB's Mumbai zonal office on October 2 last year from the international cruise terminal and the vessel that was operated by a company called Cordelia.
The accused were Vikrant, Ishmeet, Arbaaz, Ayan, Gomit, Nupur, Mohak and Munmun.
"All the accused persons were found in possession of narcotics except Aryan (Khan) and Mohak (Jaiswal)," the NCB said.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the case by the NCB on October 3 last year and released from jail later that month after being granted bail.
The NCB submitted its chargesheet before the registry and the special NDPS court will take cognizance after verification of the documents.
In March this year, the special court had granted the probe agency a 60-day extension to file the chargesheet.
Arrests in the case were made by the NCB zonal office under its former director Sameer Wankhede and his team.
On November 6 last year, the NCB headquarters removed Wankhede from the probe and transferred the case and five more from Mumbai to a Delhi-based SIT formed under its deputy director general (operations) Sanjay Kumar Singh.
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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.
