Mohammad Nalapad Haris, son of Shantinagar MLA NA Haris, has surrendered after 36 hours of evading arrest. He is accused of assaulting a youth at a restaurant in Bengaluru after an argument.
The argument erupted over the victim, who wore a cast for his fractured leg, stretching his limb. The victim, Vidwat, who is a resident of Dollars Colony in Bengaluru, is reported to have been attacked while he was having dinner at a restaurant in the UB City mall.
Mohammed and his friends, who walked into the eatery around 11:30pm on Saturday, asked Vidwat to 'sit properly' as he had stretched his leg, which was in a cast as it was fractured. The argument led to Mohammed's friends attacking Vidwath, who had to be rushed to the hospital with serious head injuries.
N.A. Haris, who is managing director of Nalapad Group of Companies, regretted the incident and claimed that the victim's father was his good friend and they would find out what went wrong between the two youths.
Meanwhile, Vidwat's friends alleged that the attack was totally uncalled for.
Mohammed, who was elected to the district unit of Youth Congress last May, had studied hospitality management from the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in UAE. Interestingly Mohammed, who is accused of assault now, is a crusader against drugs and is known to interact with college students as part of his anti-drugs awareness campaign.
Meanwhile, the BJP and JDS are demanding the immediate arrest of Mohammed as they fear the police is trying to frame Vidwat in the case rather than bring the culprits to book. The allegations have caused a major embarrassment to the Congress government as the state goes to polls in April-May.
An embarrassed Congress went into damage control mode and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara on Sunday morning expelled Mohammed from the party for six years.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah maintained that he had ordered the police commissioner to immediately arrest the culprits. Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy assured that the wrongdoers would be arrested. However, the police are yet to arrest Mohammed, who is said to be absconding.
(With inputs from Prathima Nandakumar)
