No bail to Nalapad in pub assault case

The 62nd City Civil and Sessions Court on Wednesday denied bail to Mohammed Nalapad, the son of Shanthinagar Congress legislator N A Haris, who has been in jail since February for assaulting a fellow diner at Farzi Café in UB City.

Nalapad moved the bail application after the police filed the charge sheet.

Judge Parameshwara Prasanna B rejected the application, saying there were prima facie (based on the first impression) and reasonable grounds at this stage to believe the accused had committed the offence (attempted murder), which is punishable with up to life imprisonment under Section 307 of the IPC.

Special Public Prosecutor M S Shyamsundar argued that though the charge sheet was filed, there were still "strong" chances of tampering with the evidence and influencing of the witnesses. The police have listed 15 eyewitnesses from the café.

"The statement of 11 witnesses at the Mallya Hospital was also recorded. By considering the nature of the accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the nature of injuries sustained by the victim, the reasonable apprehension of witnesses being tampered with and in the larger interest of the public, the accused is not entitled to bail. There is also strong evidence of CCTV footage in the case," Shyamsundar stated.