BENGALURU: Congress Shanthinagar MLA N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalpad and his associates have confessed to the assault of 24-year-old Vidvat, said DCP (Central) Chandragupta on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference at his office, the DCP clarified that the police were not shielding anyone in the case.
"The probe so far has established that there was an assault on Vidvat at Farzi Café in UB City. All the seven arrested accused persons, including Mohammed Haris Nalapad, have confessed to the assault. They have said that Vidvat touched his leg but refused to apologise, leading to an altercation and assault. The CCTV footage inside the café shows that there were many people surrounding the two groups and we are yet to know who assaulted whom first. We will get a clear picture once we record Vidvat's statement. Doctors said he will need few more days' time to recover. But prima facie, involvement of Mohammed and his gang is established," the DCP said.
Further, he said that it was not yet clear whether Vidvat was assaulted in Mallya Hospital premises. "We are analysing a lot of CCTV footage to know it and have summoned café and hospital staff to record their statement about the incident."
When asked about the counter-complaint filed by Arun Babu against Vidvat, he said that even that case will be investigated but the assault on Vidvat was a priority for the police.
About involvement of Mohammed Haris Nalapad in some other assault cases in the past, Chandragupta said, "We have come to know about those cases now, after this incident. We will take the case if any victim of those cases come forward."
In connection with the assault on media persons at Cubbon Park police station on Monday, he said one Mujeeb, a resident of Ashoknagar, was arrested. About the alleged VIP treatment to the prime accused, he maintained that the police would never do such a thing.