Mohammed Nalapad Haris, the son of Shantinagar Congress MLA N.A. Haris, who appeared before the Sadashiv Nagar traffic police on Wednesday for questioning, has denied the police’s charge that he was involved in the accident in which his Bentley knocked down an autorickshaw and a motorcycle, injuring four people. He claimed that he was not even in the car that rammed into the vehicles near Mekhri Circle on Sunday and denied the allegation that his aide Balakrishna, 27, had taken the fall for him.
He was granted station bail after receipt of bail bond. Nalapad, who is currently out on bail after he was charged with beating up a patron at a restaurant last year, said, “I am being framed so that my bail is cancelled. If the police have proof, let them show it. I will fight this case as much as I can. I am not the same Nalapad of the last incident.” He went on to add that he had been in a Lamborghini that was behind the Bentley. “The Bentley was being driven by Balu, who for long has been with me,” he said.
B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), however, reiterated the fact that the police had “strong proof to confirm that it was Nalapad driving the car”. “The car has a defective number plate and the colour was changed from red to black before the accident. All these issues will be investigated,” he said.
FIR against Balakrishna
The Sadashiv Nagar traffic police have filed an FIR against Balakrishna, and officials said he had lied to protect Nalapad. He surrendered on Tuesday, claiming that he had been the one driving the car.
“During interrogation, it was found that he was giving false statements to save the accused, thereby trying to change the direction of the investigation. Hence, we produced him before Sadashiv Nagar police station for further action,” a police officer said.
The incident occurred around 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, when the speeding luxury car, going towards P.G. Halli from Hebbal, rammed into a motorcycle and then hit the rear of an autorickshaw under the Mekhri Circle underpass. Among the injured was a six-year-old boy.