Let police investigate: Kerala High Court on FIR against Olympian Mayookha Johny
Kochi(PTI): Let police investigate, the Kerala High Court said on Tuesday with regard to the FIR lodged against Olympian Mayookha Johny for allegedly raising false rape allegations.
The court was hearing her plea seeking quashing of the FIR.
During the hearing, Johny's lawyer told the court that she was an athlete and an Olympian and the allegations against her were false. In response to this, Justice K Haripal said, "Let the police investigate. What does being an Olympian have anything to do with it?"
The court issued notice to the State and the complainant seeking their stand on the athlete's plea to quash the FIR against her.
The sportsperson, represented by Advocate P A Ayub Khan, has claimed the case was lodged against her to pressurise her into withdrawing her support to a friend who was raped by a man, who also took her nude photos and used them to blackmail her.
In her plea she has said that the case was quashed against one of the prime accused in the FIR in question and therefore, the same relief be granted to her also.
The accused in the rape case was denied anticipatory bail by the high court, but he was granted the relief on December 3 by the Supreme Court which also directed him to cooperate with the investigation in the case.
The case against Johny was lodged by police on the direction of a trial court based on a complaint before it alleging that her claims -- regarding who raped her friend and the threats to her own life -- were false.
Police registered a case against Johny and nine others for allegedly raising false rape allegations following a court directive on a complaint from a former trustee of a local religious outfit.
Johny in July this year had levelled serious allegations against the Kerala police and a former official of the state women's commission in connection with the investigation into the case of rape of her friend in 2016.
She had alleged that police, after initially promising action, became inactive due to intervention of highly influential persons in favour of the accused.
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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.
