Bar brawl! Bouncers' mistaken rage leaves innocent friends bruised and battered

Yash Kukreja and Vedika Sangtani display their injuries sustained in the alleged altercation with the bar staff

The IPL finale on May 27 ended in a fighting match at an Andheri pub after their staffers allegedly assaulted two customers. While the manager and two bouncers of Agent Jack's Bar in Andheri West have been booked for the incident, the establishment has said the altercation ensued after the customer hit a bouncer repeatedly.

The incident occurred on the evening of May 27, when Yash Kukreja and Vedika Sangtani were at the bar to watch the IPL finale. Once the match got over, music started playing at the club and the two began dancing. Next to them was a group of teenage boys and a middle-aged couple. A little later, the middle-aged woman complained to the bar authorities that one of the boys was constantly harassing her. The authorities mistook that boy to be Yash and harshly reprimanded him.

Yash and Vedika were allegedly also struck with a belt by one of the accused. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Clarification fails
Sensing a misunderstanding, Vedika spoke to the woman and asked if she'd meant to complain against Yash. The woman replied saying she'd told the manager about one of the teens. The woman also clarified to the bouncers that she wasn't referring to Yash. Despite that, Yash allegedly kept getting beaten up by the hotel bouncers. Vedika rushed to his rescue presuming they'd stop hitting him if a woman were to stand next to him. But to her horror, she was assaulted by the staff as well and fell on the floor. The staff allegedly refused to listen to them even when she asked them to stop.

Hit the woman
When Yash asked the staffers how they could raise their hand on a woman, the manager supposedly called up two more people from outside the bar. The men came in and began hitting and threatening Yash and Vedika. One of the men struck them with a belt. Vedika and Yash then realised the only way out of this was to quietly leave. They left and got an autorickshaw, but the accused allegedly followed them there too and threatened the rickshaw driver as well. Vedika told mid-day, "I am still in shock and cannot believe people have no regard and respect for women. We were hit so mercilessly that we're bruised and hurt all over."

Waiter admits
Yash said he and Vedika approached the Amboli police station the next day, May 28, and narrated the incident to them. They insisted upon calling the accused to the police station. The cops then called the staff, and a bouncer and a waiter arrived. The waiter admitted that Vedika and Yash were indeed assaulted by staffers. A non-cognisable offence was registered. The duo then made a follow-up call to the police station on June 4, and were asked to come to the police station on June 6. Meanwhile, a senior officer asked his team to bring the alleged accused to the police station. When the cops reached the bar, they were told two bouncers have been fired and the owner of the franchise is on leave.

Need justice, is all
Vedika and Yash visited the police station on June 6 to register the FIR (mid-day has a copy) and record their statements against the accused, namely the manager, two bouncers and two others. The FIR was filed under sections 143, 147, 149, 504, 504, 323 of the Indian Penal Code. Vedika said, "All we want is justice and whatever happened to us should not repeat with anyone else in the future." mid-day tried contacting officers from the Amboli police station but they remained unavailable for comment.

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