In Bengaluru, Congress Lawmaker's Son Accused Of Thrashing Injured Man

Bengaluru: The son of a Congress legislator in Karnataka has been accused of severely thrashing a man at an upscale restaurant in Bengaluru after an argument. Pictures of the 24-year-old man, eyes swollen shut and blood splattered on his shirt, sitting on a hospital bed, has evoked outrage on social media and in civil society.

After historian and Bengaluru resident Ramachandra Guha tweeted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the police was asked to take action. A case has been filed against Mohammad Harris Nalapad -- the son of Bengaluru legislator NA Harris - who is absconding.

MH Nalapad -- the general secretary of the Youth Congress in Bengaluru district -- has also been expelled from the party for six years, Karnataka Congress president G Parameshwara said.

Mr Nalapad, eyewitnesses said, had been incensed when he found the man, identified by his first name Vidwath, sitting with his fractured foot, in a plaster cast, resting on a chair at a restaurant in the upscale UB City mall. When he refused to lift it off the table, the legislator's son rained blows on him, eye-witneses said.

But after Vidwath was taken to Mallya Hospital, MH Nalapad and his friends had allegedly visited him there, and threatened him.

After historian Ramachandra Guha tweeted about the incident, the caught the attention of the social media. The Bengaluru Police tweeted back, promising to take action. "Police will take action as per the law and bring the guilty to book," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said.

Mr Siddaramaiah tweeted, "Offenders should be punished to the full extent of law regardless of who they are. No less, no more. Police will take action as per law and bring the guilty to book."

The Opposition parties allege that MH Nalapad is a repeat if not a serial offender, who has been involved in similar brawls earlier. They said action has been taken this time only in view of coming elections. The incident is seen as reinforcing the claims of the opposition BJP, which, ahead of the elections in the state, has accused the Siddaramaiah government of failing to maintain law and order.

Malvika Avinash, BJP spokesperson, told NDTV, "This young man is a repeat offender. He was involved in similar incidents in the past. The chief minister must act and the accused must be arrested at the soonest."

NA Haris, the father of Mohammed Haris Nalapad, told reporters he was not aware of his son's current whereabouts. "Whoever does wrong is wrong, be it the son of a MLA or anyone else. I have always advised my son to never do anything wrong. I will see that my son does not do anything like this again," he added.