Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Feb 18: Congress party, which is running Karnataka government, is doing everything possible to stay away from controversies on account of Assembly election that is round the corner. The chief minister (CM) himself had advised the ministers and others to keep themselves clear of controversial issues, after facing embarrassment in Bahmani Utsav issue.
The party however, was in for a rude shock after a first information was registered against Mohammed Nalapad, son of Congress MLA, N A Haris, and ten of his accomplices. Allegedly, they had attacked youth, identified as Vidwath from Dollars Colony here, at a restaurant and again at a hospital where the victim is being treated.
Mohammed Nalapad
Vidwath
Nalapad is a Youth Congress leader. He is the city district Youth Congress general secretary and executive director of Nalapad group of companies.
Following the incident, the state Congress on Sunday February 18 expelled Mohammed Nalapad from the party for six years.
It is said that Nalapad and his friends, who reached the restaurant where Vidwath was having food at around 11.30 pm on Saturday, saw that Vidwath had placed his plastered leg in an angle which looked odd to them. They asked Vidwath to sit properly, after which a verbal duel ensured. The group of youngsters then brutally attacked Vidwath, after which he was rushed to Mallya Hospital for treatment. The group reached the hospital too and assaulted Vidwath again there. They also are said to have tried to beat up Vidwath's brother.
N A Haris visited the hospital in the night, giving an opportunity to the opposition leaders to accuse him of trying to undermine the case. Both BJP and JD(S) have sought dismissal of Haris from his position.
The police are questioning the restaurant owner and staff about the incident apart from hospital staff. They are also trying to ascertain about the people present in the restaurant when the incident happened.
Nalapad's brother, Umar, had been accused of assaulting a youth near a pub at Shantinagara here in 2016. However, there were claims that police had refused to file first information report in the case, and the pub owner had denied involvement of Umar in the case.
Chief minister, Siddaramaiah, in connection with the incident, said that law will take its own course and the guilty will be punished irrespective of their position or backing.
"Offenders should be punished to the full extent of law regardless of who they are. No less, no more. @CPBlr will take action as per law and bring the guilty to book," he tweeted.