FIR lodged over 'hate' speeches at Dharma Sansad in Haridwar
Dehradun (PTI): An FIR has been lodged against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others in connection with alleged hate speeches delivered at a Dharma Sansad in Haridwar to incite violence against the minorities, police said on Friday.
Tyagi, who changed his name from Waseem Rizvi after converting to Hinduism earlier this month, and other speakers at last week's event have been accused of making extremely provocative speeches and some video clips of it are doing the rounds on social media.
Haridwar Kotwali Police station SHO Rakinder Singh said the FIR was registered on Thursday under IPC Section section 153A -- promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language -- and the matter is under investigation.
The FIR has been registered on the basis of a complaint by a resident of Jwalapur area in Haridwar. Asked about the video clips being shared on social media, the official said the police is not in possession of any footage of the event yet.
A senior TMC leader had demanded on Thursday immediate action against the organisers and speakers of the event held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar for three days last week.
Trinamool Congress national spokesman Saket Gokhale lodged a complaint in this connection at Jwalapur police station asking the SHO to register an FIR in the matter within 24 hours.
Gokhale, who shared a copy of his complaint on his Twitter handle, set a deadline of December 27 for the police to arrest the organisers of the Dharma Sansad and those who delivered inflammatory speeches against Muslims and other minorities at the event.
If an FIR is not registered against those involved within 24 hours, a complaint will be made to a judicial magistrate, Gokhale said in his complaint to the SHO.
At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches calling for the killing of people from the minority communities and invoking people to take up arms and shooting a former prime minister.
The Dharma Sansad was allegedly organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of Juna Akhada who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against the minorities in the past.
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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.
