MP: Ruckus in missionary school over 'religious conversion'; rioting case filed
Vidisha (MP) (PTI): Activists of right-wing organisations allegedly created a ruckus and indulged in vandalism at a missionary school in a town in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district on Monday claiming religious conversion of eight students to Christianity, a charge denied by the educational institute, police said.
Police have registered a case of rioting against unidentified persons after the incident in the premises of Saint Joseph School in Ganjbasoda, some 48 km from the district headquarters, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Bharat Bhushan Sharma said.
The accused are being identified and further legal steps will be taken accordingly, he said. Sharma said the school's property was damaged.
Eyewitnesses said stones were also pelted at the school building during the ruckus.
A school management spokesman said that after getting the information about the protest through the media, the local administration was intimated in advance about the possible disturbance.
But the people started gathering and stones were pelted which caused damage of at least Rs 10 lakh to the school property, he claimed while denying all charges of religious conversion.
The students were present for the examination in the school when the incident occurred.
However, state Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office-bearer Nilesh Agrawal told PTI that they had only organised a peaceful protest outside the school and later submitted a memorandum to the local administration and denied any role of the outfit in the disturbance at the institute.
We have nothing to do with the alleged ruckus as our protest was peaceful after informing the local administration. Several organisations have been protesting for the past week against the conversion and demanding an investigation. Poor students brought from other states are being converted, Agrawal alleged.
He said these organisations had been demanding an investigation into the alleged religious conversion.
In a memorandum submitted to the local administration after the protest, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Hindu Jagran Manch and other right-wing organisations accused the school management of converting eight students to Christianity.
In the memorandum, these outfits accused the school management and the church associated with it of forcing students to not apply 'tilak' (a coloured mark) on the forehead and wear 'kalawa' (a sacred thread worn by Hindus on the wrist).
It was also alleged students are forced to say prayers of Christianity.
In a letter to the district collector on Sunday, the Saint Joseph Church, however, denied all allegations of religious conversion and claimed rituals which were performed on eight Christian children were like 'Janeu Sanskar' in Hinduism (related to wearing a white, sacred thread) on October 30.
The church also called for an investigation to find out the truth.
In the letter, the church accused some local YouTube channels of spreading false news of religious conversion and creating communal tension and demanded penal action against them.
On the other hand, the school principal, in a separate letter to the SDOP, sought protection for staff members and students, saying exams are being conducted at present.
The principal's letter also said pictures of alleged conversion being circulated in the media are not of the school premises.
Right wing groups vandalised St. Joseph school building in Ganj Basoda, Madhya Pradesh on allegations of Conversation. pic.twitter.com/M8h7JaCaZz
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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.
