Karnataka Lawyers Refuse to Represent Acid Attacker

BENGALURU:
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy said on Thursday that as no lawyer was coming forward to represent the accused in the sensational acid attack case reported from Bengaluru, it was proving to be a technical roadblock for the prosecution.

Speaking to the media, Reddy added that as per the law, if the accused is not represented and vakalat is not filed for him, the case would not proceed further and therefore he/she will not get bail.

The acid attack case is at a standstill because of this technical barrier.

“If an advocate represents the accused, the court proceedings will move faster and he will get punishment faster,” the Police Commissioner said.

The incident had taken place on April 28, 2022. The accused Nagesh, who was waiting in an autorickshaw near the workplace of the girl in Sunkadakatte in Bengaluru, had chased and poured acid on her due to which the girl sustained 35 per cent burn injuries.

The police said that the accused studied in the same school with the victim in SSLC (Class 10). He turned into a spurned lover and after outright rejection from the girl, he had attacked her.

The Karnataka Police had submitted a 770-page charge-sheet to the court in connection with the case in August 2022.

The victim, a 23-year-old working woman, was battling between life and death for months in the hospital.

The police have named 92 witnesses in the charge-sheet submitted to the 13th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court. The investigating police officers have also submitted statements of two eye-witnesses taken under IPC Section 164.

The Karnataka Police had formed 10 special teams to nab the acid attacker, as pressure mounted from all sides for the delay in making his arrest. Finally, after 16 days, Kamakshipalya police nabbed him in Tiruvannamalai city.

The accused Nagesh went missing and managed to escape the police by disguising himself as a religious seer.

The police also went to the ‘ashram’ of the accused as devotees and after observing and working tirelessly managed to get clues about him and finally nabbed him. The police had shot him in the leg when he tried to escape after being nabbed.