Gauri Lankesh murder accused gets bail
Bengaluru, Dec 8: Mohan Nayak N, the 11th accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, has been granted bail by the High Court of Karnataka.
The allegation against Nayak was that "he had conspired with the other accused persons to commit the murder of deceased Gauri Lankesh and in furtherance of such conspiracy, he had taken a house for rent at Ramanagara in an isolated place and had given shelter in the said house to accused number 2 & 3 who are the actual assailants in the present case." He is the first accused in the case to obtain bail, which was granted by the single judge bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty.
One of the grounds on which Nayak was granted bail was the delay in the trial.
"In the present case, out of 527 charge sheet witnesses, only 90 witnesses have been examined. This Court on 11.02.2019 directed the Trial Court to expedite the trial. Though charges were framed in the present case on 30.10.2021, for the last more than two years, only 90 witnesses have been examined. There are more than 400 charge sheet witnesses who are yet to be examined in the case.
Even if it is assumed that all the witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet may not be examined in the case, considering the fact that only 90 witnesses have been examined for the last more than two years, it can be safely presumed that any time soon, the trial of the case may not be completed," the HC said in its judgement.
Nayak is in custody since July 18, 2018.
Considering the delay, the HC said, "Petitioner has been in custody for the last more than five years. Though Section 22(4) of COCA provides for certain rigors for enlarging the accused on bail as against whom charges are made for the offences punishable under the COCA, the same cannot fetter the powers of this Court to enlarge the accused on bail when there is undue delay in trial and the material on record would go to show that the trial may not be completed any time soon." "From a perusal of the order sheet maintained by the Trial Court in Spl.CC.No.872/2018, it is seen that delay in trial cannot be attributed to the accused," it said granting him bail.
Nayak is charged under under Sections 302, 120B, 118, 203, 35 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 25(1) & 27(1) of the Indian Arms Act, 1959, and Sections 3(1)(i), 3(2), 3(3) & 3(4) of the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act, 2000 (COCA).
His earlier bail plea before the HC was rejected.
In the current petition, Nayak's advocate had argued that "Out of 23 charge sheet witnesses who have spoken about the role of the petitioner in the crime, only one witness has been examined before the Trial Court till date. The other 22 witnesses are yet to be examined." Gauri was murdered outside her residence in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017 by bike-borne men. The police arrested a total of 17 men in connection with the case and claim that Gauri's murder was connected to the murder of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and those of Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra.
Nayak was released on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and two sureties for similar amounts.
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Akeal Hosein bosses powerplay overs with 'skill and mental fortitude'
New Delhi (PTI): For a spinner who bowls majority of his overs in the powerplay, Chennai Super Kings' West Indian import Akeal Hosein relies as much on mental fortitude as his skills to excel in the most unforgiving phase of the game.
With just two fielders in the deep in the first six overs, the margin for error is miniscule and the pressure is sky high.
However, Hosein thrives in that tense environment. The left-arm spinner returned with frugal figures of 3-0-15-1 in the powerplay to play a crucial role in his team's eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in an IPL match here on Tuesday.
"You need both of them (skill and mental toughness). Especially when you come upon pitches that aren't conducive to spin and it's just about being disciplined as well," he said.
"Having two fielders out in the power play. It's not a job that you can go searching for wickets or you can be too greedy. It's just about sticking to the plan," he explained.
Hosein got the all-important wicket of an in-form K L Rahul, who was foxed by the West Indian as he stepped out to smash him for an inside out six.
Hosein's inclusion in the playing eleven after not being picked in the initial phase of the tournament has allowed CSK to win more games. On Tuesday, the pitch offered him a bit of help and he ended up dominating the batters.
After the win over DC, Hosein was asked about his recipe for success in the powerplay.
"...it's a bit scripted because you only have two guys out so it's just about being disciplined and trying to do the job for the team. At the end of the day if you don't get wickets and you bowl economically in the power play, that's a damn good job you've done for the team," said Hosein.
He has taken seven wickets in five games at an impressive economy rate of 7.25.
Fully aware that the batter is a mere couple of hits away from putting the pressure back on him, Hosein says practising for high-pressure situations helps him stay in the present.
"I think homework is very important. You want to have that head-start when you come up against whichever batter you're going to face. And like I say it's just about making assessments as quickly as possible.
"You might come up on a pitch that is spinning. You might come up against one that isn't spinning. Thankfully I can spin the ball. So it's just about picking which deliveries will give you the most success on a particular day and against a particular batter," said Hosein.
He got rid of Rahul first ball from the other end, something that was decided by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Post powerplay, Noor Ahmad took over the mantle from Hosein and maintained the pressure on DC batters.
"Getting the opportunity to bowl first for me is just about again making that assessment as quickly as possible and then passing on that information to Noor or even to the seamers as well if it was a bit of spin or if it's gripping or whatever the case is.
"So conversations with myself and Noor have been fantastic. Really happy for him that he's getting some success," he added.
