Ex-AMU student leader held for anti-CAA violence: Police
Sharjeel Usmani, the son of Assistant Professor Tariq Usmani of the AMU's Department of Geography, was picked by the UP's anti-terrorist squad (ATS) sleuths from his uncle's house in Azamgarh on Wednesday and was subsequently produced in a court here which remanded him in judicial custody, they said.
He has been lodged at a temporary jail at Lodha about 20 kilometres from here, they added.
Civil Lines Circle officer Anil Samania said Sharjeel was wanted in four different cases including the violence which broke out at AMU on December 15.
He has been charged with several penal offences, including sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (committing offences in the prosecution of a common object of an unlawful assembly), 153 (inciting riots) and 153 A (carrying arms in a procession) of the Indian Penal Code, said Samania.
The other charges are sections 188 (disobedience to public servants' order), 307 (attempt to murder), 322 (inflicting grievous injuries), 353 (assaulting public servants) and 506 (making criminal intimidation) of the IPC besides the section 67 of the Information Technology Act, he added.
Aligarh's Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj G earlier on Friday said Sharjeel has also been booked under the IT Act for trying to spread communal discord as he had on December 6 last year also posted an objectionable picture of former deputy prime minister L K Advani related to the Babri mosque demolition.
The police also claimed Sharjeel was in touch with several anti-CAA protesters at JNU, including Sharjeel Imam, who is presently in jail.
After the ATS sleuths whisked away Sharjeel from his uncle's house on Wednesday, his family members went into a tizzy and frantically tried to contact various authorities both in Aligarh and Azamgarh to know about his whereabouts. They had also contacted the human rights commission.
Sharjeel's father told reporters on Friday that for more than 24 hours "we were not provided with any information regarding his whereabouts. We have approached the Human Rights Commission for what has transpired ".
The AMU Students Collective, a campus-based human rights group has condemned the manner of Sharjeel's arrest and demanded his release.
The AMU authorities, however, have distanced themselves from the matter.
When contacted AMU spokesman, Professor Shafay Kidwai told PTI, "Sharjeel Usmani is no longer our student and we were not informed about the arrest."
The AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) too preferred to sidestep the issue.
AMUTA president, Prof Najmul Islam, was not available for comment on this issue.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
