Four get death penalty for 2013 Patna serial blasts at Modi's rally
Patna, Nov 1: A special NIA court on Monday awarded death sentence to four of the nine people convicted in the 2013 serial blasts that left six dead here at the venue of an election rally addressed by Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
Special NIA judge Gurvinder Singh Mehrotra, who had on October 27 pronounced the nine guilty, also sentenced two other accused to life imprisonment, besides awarding 10 years rigorous imprisonment to as many and seven years in jail to another convict.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Lalan Prasad Singh, who argued on behalf of the NIA, capital punishment has been awarded to Haider Ali, Noman Ansari, Mohd Mujibullah Ansari and Imtiyaz Alam.
The court took a grim view of the series of explosions which were aimed at causing heavy casualties at a gathering of innocent people, Singh told reporters outside the court.
Two others Umar Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureishi had confessed to their involvement during trial. The court, considering their confession, did not award death sentence to them but only sentenced them for life, he added.
Notably, five of the convicts Haider Ali, Mohd Mujibullah Ansari, Imtiyaz Alam, Umar Siddiqui and Azharuddin Ansari were awarded life imprisonment by the court three years ago in connection with the serial blasts that had rocked the international pilgrim city of Bodh Gaya three months prior to the explosions at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Singh said of the remaining three convicts, Ahmed Husain and Mohd Firoz Aslam have been awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, while Iftikhar Alam got seven years in jail.
The NIA had filed charge-sheets against altogether 11 people in connection with the Patna blasts that took place on October 27, 2013 when Modi then the chief minister of Gujarat was addressing his maiden public meeting in Bihar.
One of them was a minor and his matter was referred to the juvenile justice board. Another person was acquitted by the court for want of evidence.
A series of low-intensity blasts and the resultant stampede had left six people dead and scores others injured.
The NIA argued its case forcefully and cogently. Besides statements of witnesses, electronic evidence was placed on record. It was established that the convicts were involved in the conspiracy which was hatched in Raipur followed by preparing of explosives in Ranchi, Singh added.
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.
