Nagaland firing: Condition of survivors serious; kin 'asked not to talk to media'
Dibrugarh (Assam)(PTI): The two survivors of the firing by army para-commandoes in a botched up ambush in Nagaland on December 4 and their relatives were asked by the "Nagaland authorities" not to talk to the media about the incident which left 13 villagers dead.
This claim was made on Wednesday by the kin of 30-year-old Yeiwang Konyak and Sheiwang Konyak, 22, who were currently undergoing treatment in the ICU of Dibrugarh's Assam Medical College Hospital (AMCH).
A doctor of AMCH, who does not want to be quoted, also corroborated it.
The condition of the two persons who were admitted to the hospital at 1 am on December 5 with bullet injuries in the scalp, eye orbit, chest and elbow is serious and one of them is likely to be shifted to another medical establishment with better facilities, an official said.
The patients and their relatives who were earlier providing details of the ambush and subsequent incidents that led to the killing of 14 people, including an Army man, on December four, have become tightlipped now claiming that they have been asked not to talk to anybody including journalists about the incident by the Nagaland authorities.
"Please do not ask us anything. We were told not to talk about it to anyone," a relative of one of the two survivors urged media persons present at the AMCH.
Earlier, a close relative of one of the two patients said as the villagers of Tiru in Oting area of Mon district were anxiously waiting for the return of coal miners on December 4, they heard sounds of gunshots and rushed towards the area from where they were coming.
He claimed that the villagers found the pick-up van, in which the miners were returning, and there were bullet marks and bloodstains on it.
The villagers chased and stopped an army vehicle at a distance and found six bodies wrapped in tarpaulin in it, he claimed. The situation became tense and in the ensuing melee, seven more civilians and one army man were killed, he said.
An official statement made by the Union government on Monday had said that based on inputs received by the Indian Army about movement of the insurgents near Tiru village, a team of para-commandos laid an ambush on Saturday. A vehicle suspected of carrying insurgents was fired upon resulting in the killing of six out of eight people in it.
However, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, the statement said.
Meanwhile, AMCH Superintendent Prasanta Dihingia told PTI that a surgery was conducted on Yeiwang on Tuesday night, two days after he was admitted to the hospital, as he had a heart condition and his pulse rate was high. He had injuries in the scalp and an eye orbit.
Sheiwang with chest and elbow injuries was under observation and is likely to be referred to a hospital with better facilities for further treatment, Dihingia said.
Doctors of various departments such as surgery, neurosurgery, cardiology and ophthalmology are providing treatment to the two and "we have been asked to provide the best treatment to them," he said.
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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.
