Two arrested in connection with Kerala SDPI leader's killing: Police
Alappuzha(PTI): A day after Alappuzha was rocked by back-to-back killings of two party leaders, police on Monday said two people have been arrested in connection with the death of SDPI's K S Shan and claimed "substantial lead" in the investigation into the murder of BJP's OBC Morcha's Ranjith Sreenivas.
ADGP (Law and Order) Vijay Sakhare, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the two separate cases, said preliminary investigation revealed that there were 10 accused in the killing of Shan on Saturday night.
While Prasad and Ratheesh were arrested in connection with the killing of the SDPI state secretary, eight other people involved in the crime have been identified and police teams have been deputed to nab them.
He said the arrested man-Prasad- was the main organiser of the murder of Shan. He allegedly organised men, vehicle and planned the killing of Shan, Sakhare said.
Police is also probing if there was any larger conspiracy behind the killing of the SDPI leader, he said.
Sakhare also spoke about the progress made in the investigation into the killing of BJP's OBC Morcha's state secretary Sreenivas, claiming "concrete clues" about the assailants.
He said the police have got a "substantial lead" about 12 people involved in the killing of Sreenivas. Their identities are being verified, the senior police official said.
Sakhare refused to provide more details but said the police is also probing if there were larger conspiracy behind the killing and if it is established, the people who participated in it would also be brought before law.
Following the killing of the SDPI state secretary Shan late Saturday night, the BJP leader Sreenivas was hacked to death less than 12 hours later on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, state police chief Anil Kant on Monday directed his force to take precautionary measures in the wake of the recent incidents in Alappuzha.
The entire police force of the state will be deployed for this. Police officers will be allowed leave only in emergency situations, a statement issued by the office of the State Police Chief said.
Kant has also directed the police to tighten vehicle inspections day and night in the state and set up necessary police pickets in problematic areas.
Anti-social elements wanted in connection with various offences will be nabbed, police said.
Prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 were imposed in the entire Alappuzha district and additional police forces were deployed there and senior officers camped there to monitor the law and order situation.
SDPI state secretary KS Shan was buried in a khabaristan near his residence on Sunday evening after his body was kept for public viewing.
Cremation of the BJP OBC Morcha's state secretary Ranjith Sreenivas, who was hacked to death at his home on Sunday morning, will be done today.
His body has been handed over to the party leaders after post-mortem, police said.
An all-party meeting convened by the Alappuzha district Collector on Monday afternoon has been postponed to tomorrow after the BJP expressed inconvenience, official sources 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.
