Protests in several places over Prophet remarks; curfew, shutdown in parts of JK
New Delhi/Srinagar: Protests broke out in some states on Friday including outside Delhi's Jama Masjid over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by two now-suspended BJP functionaries with demonstrators in Jharkhand injuring a few policemen while authorities in Jammu imposed a curfew in few areas and parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown.
In Delhi, the protesters massed outside the historic Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Some of the people, who gathered on the steps of the mosque, carried placards and shouted slogans against Sharma and Naveen Jindal, former head of the Delhi BJP's media unit.
Senior police officials said the protest was held peacefully and lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. The protesters were later dispersed from the area.
Some policemen were injured while trying to control demonstrators near Hanuman Temple situated on Ranchi's Main Road. Police fired in air and resorted to baton charge to control the protesters who spilled out on the road after the Friday prayers and pelted stones and shouted slogans.
Police officials said the protests were continuing since morning and picked up tempo post-Friday prayers. Many shops and establishments kept their shutters down in protest against the contorversial remarks.
Tension mounted in Jammu's Bhaderwah and some areas of Kishtwar prompting authorities to impose curfew while parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown.
Internet services were snapped in the Bhaderwah and Kishtwar towns and Srinagar city of Kashmir as a precautionary measure. Mobile Internet was also suspended in parts of Kashmir, officials said.
In Srinagar, protests were held at Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Tengpora and other places with the demonstrators holding placards.
Protests also broke out at several places in Uttar Pradesh with sloganeering taking place in Saharanpur, Moradabad, Rampur and Lucknow.
Members of the Muslim community staged protests in several cities of Maharashtra though no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
In Panvel city in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, at least 3,000 protesters including around 1,000 women took out a protest march, seeking the arrest of Sharma and Jindal.
A delegation submitted a memorandum to Panvel tehsildar and the protest was over peacefully by 4 pm, said a local police official.
A protest was also held at Shivaji Chowk in Vashi, where a delegation submitted their demands to the Vashi Police Station. Similar protest gatherings or marches were held in Thane, Aurangabad, Solapur, Nandurbar, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Pune districts.
Meanwhile, a complaint was filed at a court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar against Sharma, Jindal and religious leader Swami Yati Narsinghanand by a social activist against their inflammatory statements.
The BJP on Sunday suspended Sharma and Jindal for their derogatory comments on the Prophet after they stoked a furore including in the Arab world.
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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.
