World Cup final pitch invader remanded in 1-day police custody
Ahmedabad, Nov 20: An Australian arrested for invading the pitch during Sunday's World Cup cricket final between India and Australia wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt was on Monday remanded in one-day police custody by a Gandhinagar court, an official said.
Wen Johnson (24) had intruded into the pitch at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium just before the drinks break in the final at around 3pm, but was immediately apprehended by security personnel as he approached batter Virat Kohli.
He was then arrested by Chandkheda police on charges of criminal trespass (section 447) and causing hurt to deter public servants from doing their duty (section 332).
The city police commissioner transferred the case from Chandkheda police to Crime Branch, which presented Johnson in a court in Gandhinagar to seek his remand for further probe.
Advocate VS Vaghela, appearing for Johnson, told reporters his client was remanded in police custody till 5pm on Tuesday though the Crime Branch had sought 10-day custody on various grounds.
As per the FIR, Johnson, who entered the stadium as a spectator, first jumped the railing and then ran towards the pitch after pushing aside on-duty policemen in his desperate attempt to hug Kohli.
When asked why he did that, Johnson told cops he was a big fan of Kohli, the FIR said, adding as many as 15 policemen were guarding 'Point number R-88' of the stadium from where he jumped the fence.
Johnson wore a face mask bearing the design of the Palestine flag and a T-shirt with 'Stop bombing Palestine' and 'Save Palestine' slogans written on the front and back sides.
The ICC doesn't allow any political sloganeering during events organised by the global governing body of cricket and no act is allowed in India.
A preliminary probe has revealed Johnson is a habitual offender and was booked in his country for invading sports fields in the past, police inspector Viraj Jadeja said on Sunday.
"Johnson told us he is a fan of Virat Kohli and wanted to meet him during the match. He wore the pro-Palestine T-shirt just for the sake of it. Otherwise, his main aim was to meet Kohli," the police officer had said.
In some videos and photos he has shared on his Instagram handle 'pyjamamann', Johnson can be seen invading fields during football games and being taken away by security personnel.
According to a Crime Branch release issued on Monday, Johnson had invaded the field during FIFA Women's World Cup football match this year wearing a 'Free Ukraine' T-shirt.
Similarly, he went into the field during a 'State of Origin III' rugby match in Brisbane in Australia in 2020.
"Johnson is in the habit of associating himself with any current international issue and invading fields just to get publicity to become famous as a TikToker," the release said.
"A probe has revealed his father is of Chinese origin while his mother is from The Philippines. He lives in Sydney and works with a solar panel firm," said the release.
It was revealed that Johnson had put on the blue jersey of the Indian team over the T-shirt that had the pro-Palestine slogans. He then removed the jersey before running towards Kohli.
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No confusion in BJP-JD(S) alliance: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday dismissed speculation over confusion in the BJP-JD(S) alliance, asserting that there was clarity within them and that discussions on the chief minister post were premature.
Addressing reporters at the party's state office, JP Bhavan, after chairing a preparatory meeting for the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections, he said the immediate priority was to remove what he termed an "anti-people government" in the state and to strengthen the alliance to face upcoming polls.
"This is not the time to discuss who should become the chief minister. There is still time for that. If we speak about it now, it would be like stitching the cradle even before the baby is born," Kumaraswamy said, underlining that leadership questions would be taken up at an appropriate time.
The JD(S) second-in-command said there is still a lot of work to be done and it was not appropriate to speak about such matters now.
"On the issue of alliance, both I and our party are open-minded. When the time comes, we will discuss it on the party platform and take a decision. There is no confusion regarding the alliance, and there will be no confusion in the future. This is my stand," Kumaraswamy said.
"There is a bad government in the state. My objective is to remove it and bring in a pro-people government. Removing this corrupt and bad government is my agenda. The JD(S) and BJP parties will work together to accomplish this task," he added.
Reiterating his stand, Kumaraswamy said, "My objective is to remove the anti-people government in the state. I have been saying this from the beginning."
On reports of internal differences over the alliance and the CM's position, the union minister said he would not respond to every statement made by individuals.
"Some people are speaking about the alliance and the chief minister's position. I do not feel the need to respond to them. If I start answering each of them, people may think I lack maturity. Therefore, I will not speak about it. We will strengthen the alliance together, face the elections together, and bring a pro-people government," he said.
Kumaraswamy added that discussions within parties were natural and not final.
He said there were still two years left for the Assembly elections while there were four to five months left for the local body elections.
The union minister said the JD(S) is also preparing for the municipal elections in Bengaluru city just as other parties.
He clarified that there had been no discussions so far between the two parties specifically on local body or GBA elections.
Earlier, the JD(S) leader chaired a meeting with Members of the Legislative Council, former MLAs and other leaders of his party to review preparations for the GBA elections.
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