Bengaluru, May 17: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday warned a Hindu group not to challenge law and order following their claim that the Masjid-e-Ala at Srirangapatna in Mandya district was a Hanuman temple and they should be allowed to worship there.

A fringe group called 'Narendra Modi Vichar Manch' (NMVM) recently approached the Mandya deputy commissioner on May 13 claiming that the Masjid-e-Ala was 'Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami temple', which the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan had destroyed and built a mosque over it.

The group led by C T Manjunath, secretary, demanded that Hindus should be allowed to perform prayers to Hanuman inside the mosque.

Reacting to the incident, Jnanendra said he was aware of the development. And called upon people not to challenge law and order to resolve the dispute on their own.

"If anyone challenges law and order then they will be dealt with accordingly. Hence, everyone should live harmoniously. We will go by the court order," he added.

In his petition to the deputy commissioner of Mandya, Manjunath said many historians have documented the existence of Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple, which Tipu Sultan had allegedly destroyed during his regime and converted into a mosque.

"The Mysuru Gazzettier by Luis Rice, the proceedings of the royal court, the life of Maharaja, Tareekh-e-Tipu and Hyder-e-Nishani and the letter written by Tipu to the Khalifa of Persia to prove our point."

"Hence, we request you to please review the documents of the archeology department and make provisions for Hindus to legally offer their prayers to Moodalabagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple (the existing mosque), Manjunath wrote in his petition to the deputy commissioner.

Later, in a video message sent to the media houses, a member of the NMVM demanded that a survey on the lines of Gyanvapi Masjid should be conducted at Masjid-e-Ala to find out the truth.

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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.