Court grants bail to World Cup final pitch intruder
Ahmedabad, Nov 21: A court in Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Tuesday granted bail to an Australian, arrested for intruding on the pitch during the ICC World Cup cricket final wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt.
A day earlier, the accused, Wen Johnson, was remanded in police custody for a day by the court.
Johnson was produced before the court on Tuesday evening which released him on bail on conditions that he would cooperate in the probe and deposit his passport with the court, said a senior city crime branch official.
Johnson had evaded security and reached the pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad when Virat Kohli was at the crease during the final game against Australia on Sunday afternoon. He was immediately apprehended by security personnel.
Johnson was arrested by the police on charges of criminal trespass and causing hurt to deter public servants from doing their duty.
The investigation was handed over to the city crime branch on Monday which took Johnson's custody from the police and produced him before the court in Gandhinagar to seek his remand for further investigation.
As per the FIR, Johnson entered the stadium as a common spectator. He jumped the railing and then ran towards the pitch after pushing aside policemen in his desperate attempt to hug Kohli.
Johnson told police that he entered the ground as he is a big fan of Virat Kohli, the FIR stated.
He wore a face mask bearing the design of a Palestine flag and a T-shirt with slogans- 'Stop bombing Palestine' and 'Save Palestine'- written on the front and back sides, respectively.
A preliminary probe has revealed that Johnson is a habitual offender and was booked in his country for invading sports fields in the past.
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Bengaluru: KAS officer, driver caught in Rs 30 lakh bribe case
Bengaluru: Lokayukta police have arrested a KAS officer and his driver for allegedly demanding and accepting a Rs 30 lakh bribe to pass a favourable order in a pending RRT case.
The accused have been identified as Nagaprashanth (KAS), serving as Special Assistant Commissioner (North) and Special Land Acquisition Officer-1, KIADB, and Kumar, a driver associated with his office, Deccan Herald reported.
Based on a complaint by Ravi Kumar, a resident of Attur in Yelahanka, Lokayukta team laid a trap.
According to investigators, the accused had demanded Rs 30 lakh, of which Rs 15 lakh was allegedly collected earlier by the driver on the officer’s instructions.
On Wednesday, the driver was caught red-handed while accepting the remaining Rs 15 lakh, leading to the arrest of both him and the officer.
Both accused have been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.
