Five men were arrested following a brawl at a club in Vibhuti Khand, where a man suffered head injuries. After he identified his assaulters, he was allegedly assaulted again in front of police personnel.
Police maintained that force was used after those involved refused to stop fighting and allegedly grabbed constables and threatened them. “They grabbed our constables and threatened to get them suspended. Police described the force used as the minimum necessary to bring the situation under control. Those arrested were Gupta and Shashwat Pandey from one group, and Akhand Singh, Abhay Pratap Singh and Akash Singh from the other. Police took possession of the digital video recorder for technical examination.
A video of the incident, which took place in the wee hours of October 27, has also surfaced online, showing police personnel hitting men at the venue. “Rajat Gupta, aged around 28, approached us with a head injury and said some men had beaten him inside the club. Around 12 to 15 people were involved in the disturbance, and two were found injured, according to the police statement. Preventive proceedings were initiated against them under sections 170, 126 and 135 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Police said they were preparing a report seeking cancellation of the club’s licence for submission to the Uttar Pradesh excise department. Summit Building police outpost in-charge Hariom Patel said he and other personnel were conducting routine checks after midnight when they found the club operating beyond its permitted hours, with the DJ still playing. When he identified them, they started assaulting him and his friends again in front of us,” Patel said. Responding to the video, Patel said police initially tried to separate the groups and break up the fight. They were drunk and would not stop despite repeated intervention,” he said. The names of those identified as the alleged attackers were also missing from the entry register, he said. The club manager could not clearly explain why the cameras were not working, according to the police statement. Patel said a report seeking cancellation of the club’s licence was being prepared for the excise department.
