Heavy police deployment continues in Maddur amid BJP bandh call
Mandya (PTI): Heavy police deployment continued in Maddur town on Tuesday, even as the situation remained peaceful in the wake of a bandh call given by the BJP following communal clashes during a Ganesha immersion procession on Sunday.
BJP Mandya district president Indresh N S has given the call and the saffron party's ally JD(S) also supports this bandh call.
Around 800 personnel, including four Superintendents of Police, Additional SPs, and Karnataka State Reserve Police forces, have been deployed as a precautionary measure, Mandya Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi told PTI.
"The situation is under control and peaceful. Prohibitory orders are in place till tomorrow morning. Adequate forces have been deployed, and liquor sales have been prohibited," he said.
Police said two FIRs have been registered in connection with clashes that broke out on Sunday when stones were thrown at the Ganesha idol procession in Ram Rahim Nagar.
While police booked a case on their own, they registered another based on a complaint lodged by an injured person.
So far, 22 people have been arrested in connection with the Sunday incident.
According to SP, strict vigilance has been maintained regarding miscreants trying to use the situation to instigate any untoward incident. Deployment has been increased in all areas, and especially at sensitive points.
"Regarding the stone pelting incident, we have prepared a list of 26 people involved, among them, 22 people have been arrested and four are yet to be arrested. All of them are in judicial custody. We are thinking about taking them into police custody for inquiry regarding those behind the incident and to see if there was instigation from someone," he said.
Further investigations are on regarding whether it was pre-planned, he said.
"We are analysing several CCTV footage and videos to check the movement of people," he said.
Asked whether the accused are associated with any organisation, the SP said, "We are yet to get more information on it."
Teams are verifying the CCTVs about the allegations that rods were shown as a sign of threat during the procession, he added.
According to police, the stone-pelting, which began about 500 metres from a mosque, led to retaliation from members of the procession.
Police resorted to a mild lathi charge to disperse two clashing groups. Hindu activists later staged protests, raising Jai Sri Ram slogans, burning tyres, and waving saffron flags.
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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.
