Haris Jr walks out of jail after High Court finally grants bail

BENGALURU:Mohammed Nalpad Haris, son of Shantinagar MLA N A Haris, walked out of the Central Jail in Parappana Agrahara around 7 pm on Thursday after spending almost 117 days in prison. Mohammed was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on Thursday morning. He exited the jail after all formalities, including sureties demanded by the court, were completed by afternoon.

Mohammed had been jailed after he surrendered in the infamous pub assault case in which he and others have been accused of attacking L Vidwat at a popular restaurant in UB City in February this year.The issue, which hit headlines, was also debated in the Legislative Assembly.

On Thursday, during his bail plea hearing, Justice John Michael Cunha, while reading out the order, said the court had imposed five conditions to his bail approval. Accordingly, he furnished a bond for a sum of `2 lakh, two sureties for the same amount to the jurisdictional court. The High Court also directed Mohammed to appear before the court when required and told him not to tamper with evidence, threaten or induce the prosecution witnesses. He was also warned not to get involved in similar offences or leave the jurisdiction of the court.

This is the second time that Mohammed had approached the High Court for bail after a chargesheet was filed against him. Earlier, the trial court had rejected his petition twice and the High Court had rejected it once. Along with Mohammed, Arun Babu, G Manjunath, Mohammed Afras Ashraf, M Balakrishna, Abhishek Murali, Nafi Ahmed, were arrested by Cubbon Park police. Abhishek Murali was released on bail recently.  

According to the chargesheet filed by CCB police, Mohammed first slapped the victim Vidwat, besides provoking his aides with the sole intention of murdering him. The clash erupted when Mohammed Haris Nalapad’s leg touched Vidwat’s right leg which was covered with plaster of Paris (PoP) owing to a fracture while he was entering the cafe around 10.30 pm on February 17, 2018. In the chargesheet, which runs into more than 300 pages, statements of as many as 23 witnesses, including the complainant Praveen Venkatachalaiah, were recorded. The accused were booked under Sections 143, 144, 147, 148, 341, 323, 326, 504, 506 (b), 307 read with 149 of the IPC.