SC grants time till Monday to UP for stand on monitoring of SIT probe by ex-judge of other HC
Lakhimpur violence
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court Friday granted time till November 15 to the Uttar Pradesh government for apprising its stand on the suggestion that a former judge of a different high court should monitor the state SIT probe on day-to-day basis in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people including four farmers were killed on October 3.
Would your Lordships give me time till Monday? I have almost got it done. We are working something out, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the UP government, told the bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana.
List on Monday, said the bench which, also comprised justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, acceding to the request.
The apex court, on November 8, had expressed dissatisfaction over the probe and suggested that to infuse "independence, impartiality and fairness in the ongoing investigation, a former judge of a different high court should monitor it on day-to-day basis.
The bench had also said that it has no confidence and does not want the one-member judicial commission appointed by the state to continue probe into the case.
Retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava was named by the state government to enquire into the eruption of violence on Tikonia-Banbirpur road in Lakhimpur Kheri district.
The state government was asked to inform about its stand on the suggestion of monitoring of probe by a former judge of a different high court.
We, somehow or the other, are not confident and we do want any judicial commission appointed by your state government to continue, the bench had said.
Observing that the investigation was not going the way it expected, the bench had red flagged some of the issues pertaining to the SIT probe conducted so far and said: prima facie it appears that one particular accused (in the farmers' mowing down case) is sought to be given benefit by securing or procuring evidence from witnesses in the subsequent case related to the lynching of political activists by the farmers' mob.
It was also very critical of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of state police for seizing the mobile of Ashish Mishra, one of the arrested 13 accused, and rest of the phones belonged to the witnesses to the alleged mowing down of the farmers.
We have seen the status report. There is nothing in the status report except to say that some more witnesses have been examined. We granted 10 days time. Laboratory reports have not come. No, no, no...it is not going the way we expected, it had said.
We propose to appoint a person like say from Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ranjit Singh, who has an expertise in criminal law and army background... let an independent judge like Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, again from the same HC, monitor everything, it had said.
Prior to this, the bench had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide protection to witnesses under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 and to record the statements of other witnesses before the judicial magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and expedite the examination of digital evidence by experts.
The police has so far arrested 13 accused, including Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra, in connection with the case. The apex court was hearing a matter about the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri in which eight persons including four farmers were killed during a farmers' protest.
Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV in the convoy at Lakhimpur Kheri when a group agitating against the Centre's three new farm laws was holding a demonstration against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on October 3.
Two BJP workers and a driver were beaten to death allegedly by the angry protesters, and a local journalist was killed in the violence.
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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.
