Two men arrested for assault on Ryder

Christchurch, March 29 (IANS)

Two men have been arrested and charged with assaulting New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder that left him in a state of coma.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer said the second arrest they made was of a 37-year-old man, not from Christchurch. The police earlier have arrested a 20-year-old Christchurch man, who is related to the second person arrested for assaulting the Kiwi cricketer.

“At the moment, we have a reasonably clear picture of what has taken place… but we don’t know the full ins and outs of why this has occurred,” Archer was quoted as saying in the local media.

The 20-year-old man has been released on bail and will appear in Christchurch district court next Thursday.

Archer didn’t comment on how the pair were related to each other but confirmed that Ryder was attacked twice in quick succession.

Archer said CCTV images revealed that the men were the only ones involved in the two attacks on Ryder – first outside the Aikman’s Bar here in Merivale and second across the road in a McDonald’s car park.

Police currently are still investigating the motive behind the attack and said there was nothing to indicate that Ryder knew the two arrested men.

Ryder, who had recovered from his alcohol related problems, was due to fly out to India to play for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ryder was bought for his $300,000 by Daredevils.