Kerala police raids homes of actor Dileep, his brother
Kochi(PTI): The Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police on Thursday raided the homes of actor Dileep and his brother and also the office of his Grand Production company here in connection with the latest case against them for allegedly threatening investigation officers in the '2017 actress sexual assault case', sources said.
Dileep is an accused in the sexual assault case also.
A top Crime Branch official said that three teams of officials were dispatched to carry out the raids simultaneously at the three locations.
However, according to visuals shown on news channels, the raiding teams had to wait for some time outside Dileep's residence and his company office for them to be opened.
The visuals also showed some officials clambering over the gate of Dileep's house to get inside. The gate was subsequently opened by his sister, sources said.
The company office was also opened, after some delay, by the staff there, the sources added.
According to sources, the raids were carried out on the basis of court orders and the statement given to the Crime Branch by director Balachandra Kumar.
Kumar, who met the media after appearing before the Crime Branch, had claimed discussions regarding the conspiracy to attack the investigating officers were held at many places.
Kumar had recently made some startling revelations against Dileep in the actress assault case through the media.
He has also claimed that there is evidence including digital ones to prove that Dileep had influenced the witnesses.
The crime branch registered the new case on a complaint filed by an investigating officer based on a purported audio clip of Dileep which was released by a TV channel recently in which the actor was heard conspiring to attack the officials.
On Tuesday, the high court had asked the police not to take any action against Dileep, his brother and brother-in-law till January 14 after they moved a joint plea for anticipatory bail in the new case.
In his anticipatory bail plea, the actor has claimed that the latest case has been lodged on a complaint by one of the investigating officers in the actress sexual assault case as the officer did not want to be examined during trial.
The actor and five others have been booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offense), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (criminal act done by several people).
In their plea, the actor and his relatives also claimed that the complaint made against them by the officer -- DySP (Crime Branch) Baiju Paulose -- was "false" and the allegations in the FIR, registered on the base of the complaint, were "wholly false and baseless".
They have also claimed that the intention behind registration of the case was to take them into custody and humiliate them before the public.
The victim -- who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films -- was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by some of the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by some of the accused to blackmail the actress.
There are 10 accused in the case and initially, police arrested seven people. Dileep was arrested subsequently and let out on bail later.
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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.
