NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) player Luke Pomersbach who was arrested for allegedly molesting an American woman and beating up her fiancé.

Luke Pomersbach was granted bail on a surety of Rs 30,0000. Luke will have to surrender his passport. The court also directed Luke Pomersbach not to approach the complainant woman.

The Delhi police showed CCTV footage to metropolitan magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha as sought by the judge on Friday while granting interim bail to Pomersbach for a day till Saturday.

The court had asked the Delhi police to submit visuals of CCTV cameras installed inside the five-star hotel along with the medical report of the victim's fiancé and Pomersbach.

Pomersbach is alleged to have molested the woman at the ITC Maurya Hotel here early on Friday and beaten her fiancé Sahil Peerzada when he tried to stop the player. The Delhi police registered a case of molestation against Pomersbach, who later was released on bail by a city court.

The woman, Zohail Hameed, said Pomersbach forcibly entered her room and tried to molest her. — IANS

BANGALORE: Miffed over the party's top brass sidelining him, sulking BJP Karnataka strongman B.S. Yeddyurappa today said he would not attend the party’s national executive to be held in Mumbai from May 24. 

"I will not attend the party national executive," Yeddyurappa, who recently pushed the party government to a crisis that had threatened its survival, told reporters here. 

However, Yeddyurappa sought to set at rest speculation about his future political moves, saying he will not join any political outfit, including the Congress. 

"There is speculation that I am going to join the Congress. It is far from truth. There is no question of joining any political party", Yeddyurappa said after meeting people at his new "public meeting centre". 

Yeddyurappa's reaction came against the backdrop of comments made by some Congress leaders over admitting the former Chief Minister into the party. 

He said he would tour the state after May 30 to know the pulse of the people and take an appropriate decision on his future. 

After sparking a crisis with nine ministers and several MLAs loyal to him submitting their resignations, Yeddyurappa however, announced a few days ago that he had deferred his decision to quit the party. 

The beleaguered BJP leader, who has been facing a spate of corruption cases and a CBI probe, praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and described him as a "straight forward man and dynamic Chief Minister." 

Yeddyurappa's remarks assume significance as Modi is also reportedly unhappy with the BJP central leadership over certain issues amid recent reports that he might not attend the BJP National Executive meeting. 

He said there were problems in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka and wanted the party to introspect and resolve them. 

Yeddyurappa said certain important leaders in Karnataka and Gujarat have expressed displeasure and wanted the upcoming national executive to deliberate on the "serious" issue. 

"After (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee, a leader like L.K. Advani is leading the party. He is capable of taking decisions for the good of the party. However, Anantkumar (party’s General Secretary) is not allowing him take decisions and resolve crisis. Anantkumar is trying to keep the party under his clutches", he said. 

"Anantkumar creates confusion and doubtful situation. It is very tragic that Anantkumar is not only misguiding the party, but also trying to dominate", he alleged. 

BJP has leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, who had good leadership qualities, but Anantkumar is "suppressing" them, he said. 

He charged that Kumar was preventing any MP from Karnataka though it has stalwarts like D B Chandregowda, Suresh Angadi and Basavaraj, from coming into prominence. 

Yeddyurappa said he was hurt at the way he was treated in the party, which he built in the last forty years. 

He said BJP General Secretary Dhamendra Pradhan, who is camping in the city since yesterday to resolve the crisis, met him. "I also spoke by phone to Gadkari and Jaitley", he added. — PTI

Kollam (Kerala): A court in Kollam on Saturday rejected the bail application of two Italian marines accused in the fishermen killing case, holding that granting it might affect progress of the case. Rejecting the plea of Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, detained for the last three months, District and Sessions Judge P D Rajan said releasing them from prison on bail at this juncture might affect the conduct of the case.

The marines on board the Italian ship 'Enrica Lexie' had allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen--Valentine Jalastine and Ajesh Bi --on February 15, apparently mistaking them for pirates.

The marines, who were arrested on February 19, are lodged in the Central Prison at Thiruvanathapuram under judicial remand.

Police had on Friday filed the chargesheet in a court here charging them with murder under the Indian Penal Code and also invoking the International Maritime Law in the incident which had led to a diplomatic row between India and Italy.

Within hours after the charge sheet was filed, Italy called back its Ambassador to India for "consultations".

Italy insists that since the incident occurred in international waters, the marines should be tried in Italian courts rather than Indian courts. — PTI

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lost her cool and stormed out of an interactive TV session here when members of audience asked her about the arrest of a Professor for forwarding a cartoon lampooning her.

"It is not a cartoon. We love the cartoon. Cartoon is a different thing. He is a CPI-M man. He misused the e-mail of his society people without their consent. He forwarded it to 60 people," Banerjee said angrily when a student from Jadavpur University asked her about the arrest of Prof. Ambikesh Mahapatra.

Claiming that the Professor was not an intellectual, but a "CPM agent", she told the moderator that "after election CPM had sent thousands of CDs, if you are a woman and if you see them, you will feel ashamed. CPM and Maoists are working together."

" ... The message in the cartoon which contained the word 'vanish' is a murder conspiracy and a plot supported by CPM. What he has done is a cyber crime. It is not a cartoon, it is a political conspiracy to murder me," Banerjee claimed.

Stating that her government believed in democracy, she said, "Otherwise, he (Ambikesh) should have been in custody. He has done a wrong thing. He misused the e-mail. I know that Maoist people and CPM are putting up these questions," the Chief Minister told an interactive session organised by news channel CNN-IBN.

When a girl from Jadavpur University rose to ask a question, Banerjee asked "Why (students from) other universities are not here? There are so many universities. You tell me why, what about the others?

"Are you a Maoist?" Banerjee asked the girl. The student shot back, "I am not a Maoist." When the moderator referred to crime against women in the state, Banerjee dismissively said, "no crime. No crime against women."

Told by a questioner that she had supported the Maoists at the national level in an apparent reference to her statement that the killing of Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was "not correct", the Chief Minister replied, "We did not support the Maoists. This is wrong."

To an another question, Banerjee said, "We don't support the Maoists. There are so many things and other issues to ask. What is this nonsense going on? Maoists people are here. They are Maoist students. I cannot answer the Maoists' questions and CPM questions.

"They are the CPM cadres. I am not going to reply. I will give reply to questions from common people. I am sorry to say you belong to CPM. You are SFI cadres. We know all of you," a furious Banerjee told the audience.

"You did not tell me before," she told the moderator before making her exit. — PTI