Abduct bid rap man is named
JUDGE DENIES BAIL OVER ‘FLIGHT RISK’
A JUDGE has ruled that a student charged with the attempted abduction of a young boy from a Dublin apartment building should be named.
Visak Rajesh Leela (25), originally from India, was arrested following a party on Saturday and was refused bail yesterday.
He was allegedly seen walking out with the five-year-old “under his arm”.
Judge Alan Mitchell heard a jury would have to decide if “it was extremely misguided, foolish horseplay by a drunk man or something more sinister”.
“We are absolutely adamant that it was the former”, defence solicitor Michael Kelleher told Cloverhill District Court.
Mr Leela, a postgraduate student who has lived in south Dublin for ten months, made no bail application at Dublin District Court on Monday. At that stage, another judge had ordered the media not to name him after gardai cited the “sensitivity” of the case “in the current climate”.
However, when the case resumed at Cloverhill District Court yesterday, Judge Mitchell lifted the restrictions that prevented the accused being named in the press earlier in the week.
Concern
John Freeman BL, for various news outlets, argued that the order went against the media’s rights, and said that the Children’s Act already protected the anonymity of child witnesses.
State solicitor Niamh McKernan told the judge that the only concern was about the children being identified, but the defendant could be named “like in any other case”.
Judge Mitchell noted the accused did not live near the apartment block and had no connection to that area. He held that the media could name him but must exercise caution and not identify any children involved in the case.
He ordered that Mr Leela’s specific address not be reported due to the “current climate.”
The court heard gardai would recommend to the DPP that the case go to the Circuit Court, where the offence can attract a maximum seven-year sentence.
The bail objection was due to fears the accused had no ties to the jurisdiction and would evade justice if released on bail.
Mr Kelleher said his client was applying for bail, had no warrant history, and hoped to extend his visa so he could work here after his course. However, Judge Mitchell held he was a flight risk, refused bail and remanded Mr Leela in custody to appear again on October 2.