Object was not firecracker, says Congress MLA N A Harris injured in explosion
Bengaluru, Jan 23: Congress MLA N A Harris, who sustained minor injuries in a suspected explosion, on Thursday demanded that the police thoroughly investigate the matter because the object that exploded was not a firecracker as it had ball-bearings inside it.
According to Harris' son Nalapad, the incident occurred at about 9.30 pm when the MLA was addressing a gathering in the city organised by party workers.
"Someone threw an explosive at him which exploded with a great noise. Somehow, my father escaped. In this incident, three others were injured," he said.
He was taken to a private hospital where the doctors kept him under observation for about 12 hours and later discharged him.
A family member said Harris sustained injuries in his leg and received stitches.
Speaking to reporters after coming out of the hospital, Harris said "The object that exploded was not like a (fire) cracker. It was round-shaped with ball bearings in it.
We have seen crackers as we celebrate Diwali but this was not a cracker. The Forensic Science Laboratory team has taken a sample."
The MLA said the state Home minister has spoken to him and he has faith in the police.
"We want to know the motive behind it," he said.
The congress leader said he can't recall having any enemy but this incident has scared him.
Harris said Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and other Congress functionaries called on him and inquired about his well-being.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
