Brawl over unpaid bill lands Thane man with hole in his skull

The incident allegedly took place as the victim had not paid the bill after eating at Upvan-based hotel; he had to undergo operation for severe head injury; no arrest yet

An argument with hotel staffers over an alleged unpaid bill landed a 26-year-old Thane resident in the ICU. Sagar Nichal had visited Skyline Terrace Hotel in Upvan with his friend and was allegedly beaten up by the owner and his associates on Saturday night. Sagar has been admitted to Jupiter Hospital and had to undergo an operation for scalp injury. No arrest has been made in the case so far.

Prathmesh Rajput, an eyewitness, said, “I was taking a ride near Upvan on Saturday night when I saw some people beating up my friend Sagar. I tried to intervene but some of the people also grabbed me. At first, they were beating him with bare hands but then one of them picked up an iron rod and hit him on the head while another hit both him and me with a beer bottle.”

The assailants allegedly left after Sagar lost consciousness. Vartak Nagar police, who were on patrolling duty, spotted the duo and took them to Sai Criticare Hospital, from where they were shifted to Juniper Hospital for further treatment.

Vishajeet Khatavkar, Sagar's brother-in-law, said, “He had a 2.5-inch hole in his scalp and four small pieces of skull bone had to be removed. His speech has been hampered due to the severe head injury. A titanium mesh has been placed on the hole in his skull.”

Vartak Nagar cops have booked the hotel owner Harsh Bhanushali, as well as Shubham Lawand and two others for assault. “As per initial investigation, Sagar and his friend ate at the hotel and allegedly left without paying. However, he returned around 2 am when the incident took place. We are yet to record the detailed statement of the victim. Further investigation is on,” said Sadashiv Nikam, senior inspector, Vartak Nagar Police station. 

Nyandeep Jadhav, Sagar's friend and member of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, said, “Cops are trying to shield the accused by downplaying the incident. We demand immediate arrest of all the accused.”

mid-day tried to reach out to Bhanushali and the hotel, but there was no response.

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