Md Haris smiles at cops, walks into police station

BENGALURU: Congress MLA NA Haris'son Mohammed Nalapad Haris surrendered before police on Monday morning, 37 hours after he and his friends brutally attacked a management graduate in an upscale restaurant in the city. Much to the surprise of the cops, Md Haris turned up at the Cubbon Park police station in an autorickshaw. Six of his associates were nabbed earlier on Sunday.
All seven accused were produced before the VIII ACMM court at Nrupatunga Road and the judge remanded them to two days in police custody. Clad in a white shirt, jeans and cap, a relaxed Md Haris smiled and waved to supporters outside the court as he got into a KSRP van. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to us. We shall come out clean," he said. The police jeep escorting the van had a tough time making its way through the milling crowd. The accused are to be produced in court again on February 21.
There was little drama in the morning as Md Haris, who was on the run since Saturday night's assault, turned up at the Cubbon Park police station around 11am. Police were tipped off that the Shantinagar MLA's son might surrender during the day but it was not clear if he would do so before the Central Crime Branch which has taken over the case or Cubbon Park police which has registered the case.
"We were expecting a convoy of SUVs and sedans. At 11.05am, an autorickshaw stopped a little ahead of our station and two men stepped out. As they walked towards the station, we identified one of them as Haris," another officer said. He reportedly smiled at the police constables outside the station and walked in. "There was no remorse or fear in his eyes," a police officer told TOI.
Md Haris, 24, and his associates are accused of assaulting Vidvat L, also 24, at Farzi Cafe, located on the second level of UB City. Vidvat, a management graduate and a resident of RMV II Stage, near Dollars Colony in north Bengaluru, was having dinner with two friends when they were attacked, allegedly for staring at Md Haris' group. After beating up Vidvat, the lawmaker's son chased him to hospital and threatened him. On Sunday, six of Md Haris' accomplices - Balakrishna, Manjunath, Abhishek, Shashi, Arun Babu and Nasir - were picked up from various locations.
Following the surrender on Monday, police took statements from all the accused, which went on till 3.20pm. Around 3.30pm, the accused were taken to Bowring Hospital in a KSRP van for a medical check-up. The van left Bowring for the court at 4.15pm.
By then, hundreds of men and women had gathered near the magistrate court complex, voicing their support for Md Haris. The crowd objected to the presence of media at the court but the Cubbon Park police intervened and defused the situation.
The court hall was soon packed with a sizeable media contingent and curious advocates, given the politically sensitivity of the case. Police sought custody of the accused for eight days but the judge granted two days. An angry crowd picketed the KSRP van as the accused entered it. Md Haris waved to them and the van made its way out, with a police jeep escorting it.