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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Air ambulance with 7 onboard to Delhi from Ranchi crashes in Jharkhand's Chatra
Ranchi (PTI): An air ambulance with seven people onboard to Delhi from Ranchi crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand's Chatra district on Monday, Ranchi airport Director Vinod Kumar said.
There was no immediate confirmation about casualties.
The crash occurred after the air ambulance took off from Ranchi airport at about 7.10 pm, the official said.
"An air ambulance from Ranchi with seven people onboard crashed near Simaria in Chatra district. The report of the crash was received from the state administration," Airport Director Kumar told PTI.
The ambulance had lost contact with air traffic control around 20 minutes after takeoff.
The DGCA in a statement said, "On 23.02.2026 Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV operating medical evacuation (Air Ambulance) flight on sector Ranchi-Delhi crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district, in Jharkhand."
There were seven people on board, including two crew members.
"The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. After establishing contact with Kolkata at19:34 IST, aircraft lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi," it added.
The district administration's search and rescue team is at the location, and an Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team is being dispatched for investigation, the statement said.
Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G told PTI, "The aircraft went missing around 7.30 pm. It crashed at Bariatu Panchayat in Simaria."
The DC said she cannot confirm the casualties right now, as the place of occurrence is deep in the forest.
"A team has been sent. We can confirm when the team reaches there," she added.
