Kochi(PTI): Referring to the recent killing of a man by a gang of 12 assailants who chopped off the victim's leg and threw the limb on the road as they fled the site, Kerala High Court has said it was a "scary" situation in the state.
"People chopping off someone's leg and throwing it on the road. It is scary. They (assailants) are all probably drug addicts and heavily into substance abuse. Where are we going like this," Justice Devan Ramachandran said.
The remarks came during hearing a batch of petitions related to assignment of land to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the state.
During the hearing, the court said that while the government was saying it will provide housing to these people, how will it ensure they have a source of livelihood?
It pointed out that over 50 lakh from other states were working in Kerala, but people here do not have jobs. This was leading to the younger generation resorting to crimes or drugs, the court said.
A man, wanted in an attempt to murder case, was hacked to death and his leg chopped off on December 11 by a gang of 12 assailants in Pothencode area of Thiruvananthapuram district.
Several of the accused in the case have been arrested, police has said recently.
On Saturday (December 11) afternoon, the assailants tracked the victim to Pothencode where he was staying in the house of a distant relative.
On seeing the gang coming to attack him, the victim rushed into the home of his relative, but the assailants also forced themselves into the house and hacked him several times and chopped off his leg in front of the others there, including children, the house owner told the media.
The house owner also said that the victim was a distant relative of his wife and had come there seeking work. The victim was rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, but his life could not be saved, police had said.
The assailants, while fleeing the scene, threw the limb on the road, police had said.
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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.
