Jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari hospitalised
Lucknow (PTI): Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari has been admitted to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district after his health deteriorated, his brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari said on Tuesday.
He claimed that the district, jail and hospital authorities were not giving the family details of Mukhtar's health condition.
"We have got a message from Mohammadabad police station informing us that Mukhtar is ill and is being admitted to Medical College, Banda. Family members have been asked to come for his help," Afzal Ansari told PTI.
"Not only this, Mukhtar's lawyer is also not being allowed to meet him. Now only when the family members reach there anything will be known about his condition," he said.
Afzal Ansari said he had called the Chief Minister's Office before leaving for Banda but could not contact Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is in Gorakhpur.
He said the purpose of calling the Chief Minister's Office was to request that Mukhtar be admitted to the Medanta Hospital in Lucknow or any other big hospital if adequate arrangements are not made at Banda Medical College.
"If the government does not bear the cost of treatment, the family will bear this expense," he said.
Afzal Ansari claimed that during the virtual hearing of a case in a Barabanki court on March 21, Mukhtar's lawyer had filed an application in the court alleging that his client had been given "slow poison" in jail due to which his condition was deteriorating.
Mukhtar Ansari, who has served as MLA from Mau several times, has been sentenced in various cases and is currently lodged in Banda jail.
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.
