Vismaya case: Kerala court convicts husband for dowry death, abetting suicide
Kollam(PTI): A Kerala court on Monday convicted the husband of Vismaya, an Ayurveda medical student who hanged herself in her marital home in June last year, for dowry death and abetting her suicide.
Additional District and Sessions Judge-1 Sujith K N also convicted the husband for the offence of dowry related harassment under the IPC and various provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) G Mohanraj told reporters outside the court.
The SPP said that the court is expected to pronounce the sentence on Tuesday after hearing arguments on behalf of the prosecution and the convict.
He said that the prosecution would be seeking the maximum possible punishment for the convict -- S Kiran Kumar. The offence of dowry death under section 304B of IPC carries a minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
The offences of dowry harassment under Section 498A of IPC and abetment to suicide under Section 306 of IPC carry a maximum punishment of three years and 10 years jail term, respectively.
Vismaya's father spoke to reporters outside the court and said that his daughter has got justice.
He said he did not have words to express his gratitude for the efforts of the prosecution and the investigating team.
Prior to leaving for the court, he had told reporters at his residence that the government appointed a very good investigating team to probe the case and a very good prosecutor.
Just before the verdict was delivered, state Transport Minister Antony Raju told reporters that irrespective of the court's decision in the criminal case, there will be no change in the state government's decision to dismiss Kumar from service.
Kumar was an assistant motor vehicle inspector. The court had on May 17 reserved its verdict in the case.
Kerala Police in its 500-page charge sheet had said that Vismaya committed suicide due to dowry harassment.
Vismaya, 22, was found dead in the house of her husband at Sasthamkotta in Kollam district on June 21, 2021.
A day before the incident, Vismaya had sent WhatsApp messages to her relatives over the alleged harassment by Kumar over dowry, as well as photos of wounds and marks of beatings on her body.
Her father had told a TV channel that 100 sovereigns of gold (one sovereign is equal to 8 grams gold) and over one acre land, besides a car worth Rs 10 lakh was given as dowry to Kumar during the wedding in 2020.
But Kumar did not like the car and wanted Rs 10 lakh in cash. As he was told it was not possible, he used to torture her, the father had 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.
