Milind Teltumbde among 26 Naxals killed in encounter: Maharashtra Police
Mumbai(PTI): Top Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde was among the 26 Naxals killed in an encounter with police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, a senior police official said on Sunday.
The gun-battle took place on Saturday at Korchi in Mardintola forest area of the district, located over 900 km from Mumbai, when a C-60 police commando team was conducting a search operation, police earlier said.
The C-60 commandos, an elite wing of the police, had recovered bodies of 26 Naxals during a search after the encounter and Teltumbde, one of the wanted accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, was suspected to be among the dead.
"Teltumbde was among the 26 dead Naxals," a senior state police official confirmed on Sunday.
The police also recovered 29 firearms from the spot, including nine 12 bore weapons, nine SLRs (self-loading rifles) and five AK-47 guns, another police official said.
The dead rebels included 20 males and six females.
A male and a female bodyguard of Teltumbde were also among those killed in the encounter, police said.
Milind Teltumbde, the brother of activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde, was carrying a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head for his alleged involvement in violent activities against the state.
Anand Teltumbde had been arrested earlier in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.
As per a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgar Parishad case, Milind Teltumbde was named as the 'dreaded Maoist', a top operative of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and declared as absconding.
He was allegedly involvement in the Naxal movement since 1996 and was on the radar of central and state security agencies for the last few years in the wake of his activities.
A witness of the NIA in the Elgar Parishad case in a statement claimed that Milind Teltumbde had lived in Dhammadeep Nagar at Ita Bhatti Chowk in Maharashtra's Nagpur district.
The witness had claimed that Milind Teltumbde bought a property worth Rs 7 lakh under the name of an associate and stayed there between January 2017 and April 2018.
According to the NIA, Milind Teltumbde used several alias names like 'Anil', 'Deepak', 'Sahyadri' and 'Comrade M' while on the run.
On Saturday, four police personnel were also seriously injured in the action against Naxals in Gadchiroli, which lies on the border of Chhattisgarh, and were taken to Nagpur by a helicopter for treatment.
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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.
