Mohammed Nalapad Haris, son of Congress MLA NA Haris, was denied bail on Wednesday, more than three months after he was taken into custody by the police for allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old man in a fit of rage.
This is the second bail plea in the case after the first one was rejected on March 14. The hearing commenced at 3 pm in Court Hall number 63, in the City and Civil Court in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Special Public Prosecutor Shyam Sundar claimed that more evidence had been collected supporting the accusations as compared to the previous bail hearing.
"The investigation has revealed more concrete evidence against Nalapad Haris and his aides as compared to when the bail was rejected the first time," argued Special Public Prosecutor Shyam Sundar, who is representing Vidvat, who was allegedly assaulted by Nalapad and his aides.
Nalapad was arrested on February 19, two days after he and his associates allegedly assaulted Vidvat, the son of a prominent businessman, in an uptown café in Bengaluru, over an altercation.
The chargesheet filed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) revealed that Nalapad initiated the incident and provoked his aides with the intention of murdering Vidvat.
According to the chargesheet submitted to the court, containing 23 witness statements, the CCB confirmed that the clash between the two was triggered when Nalapad’s leg touched Vidvat’s right leg, which was covered with plaster of paris, for he was recovering from an accident.
“I am a son of local MLA NA Haris. You are not even equal to my shoe. You say sorry and kiss my feet,” Nalapad is reported to have said before hitting him with glass bottles, ice buckets and other items. Soon after, Nalapad had reportedly said, “If you don’t say ‘sorry’, then I will kill you here only.”
Shyam Sundar defends the strength of the chargesheet filed by the police and claims 15 eyewitnesses described the way in which the assault took place. He picks out one statement by Rekha Ghosh, employee at Farzi Cafe, in which she claims that she tried to stop the fight and got hurt.
Charges against Nalapad include attempt to murder (section 307 of the Indian Penal Code), a section which was added two days following his arrest. The initial FIR against Nalapad was registered under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 143 and 144 (unlawful assembly), 146 and 147 (rioting), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC.
The Special Public Prosecutor Shyam Sundar appearing for Vidvat time and again had argued that the injuries inflicted on Vidvat were not only grievous but also not limited to a single place. At the Karnataka High Court, he had submitted three videos as evidence, which reportedly showed Nalapad entering UB City along with 15 men.
In his statement too, Vidvat revealed to the police that he was assaulted on three separate occasions in UB City - in Farzi Cafe, in the escalator and in the parking lot - by Nalapad and his men.
The case became politically contentious too, given the timing of the incident. Nalapad Haris is the son of Congress MLA NA Haris. BJP and AAP supporters hit the streets in protest, embarrassing the Congress, in the wake of the incident. Nalapad was sacked from the position of Bengaluru Youth Congress President and the party. Incidentally, NA Haris was not named in the first list of 218 candidates for the Assembly elections. However, it did not appear to deter Haris in his bid to get re-elected as he comfortably won once again from Shantinagar constituency.
In Tuesday's hearing, tempers flared between the defendant and the prosecutor at the mention of NA Haris's name. The defendant was adamant that NA Haris's name should not be besmirched due to the incident. However, Shyam Sundar responded by asking why NA Haris had posted the discharge summary of Vidvat on Facebook and questioned whether Haris was using his influence as an MLA to tamper with the investigation.