Elite club booked for thrashing New Year’s party gate-crashers

The 143-year-old elite Bangalore Club is allegedly in the midst of a controversy. Cubbon Park police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the club following allegations of its members thrashing six youths attempting to gate-crash into the club’s New Year’s Eve party at about 2.15am on January 1, and illegally detaining them.

The FIR, which is now before the first Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), was based on a complaint filed by the six youths who alleged that some of Bangalore Club members and security guards pounced on them just as they had jumped the Richmond Road side of the club’s wall to gate-crash into the party.

The youths—identified as Gopal Krishan, Yogesh, Abu Sofia, Suresh, Arif and Subhan – have alleged that the club members and the security guards beat them up severely before illegally detaining them in a room.

Later, they were dragged out and thrown on the footpath of Residency Road, opposite Hotel Chancery Pavilion, where some passers-by stopped to check on these youths who were lying by the roadside, bleeding and writhing in pain.

So badly were these six youths beaten up that when the passers-by called the police, the latter thought it best to first admit them to Lady Curzon & Bowring Hospital for treatment before taking their complaint.

Sources in the Cubbon Park police said although there was no mention of names of the club members involved in the FIR, a few who were present at the time of the incident were questioned. The police have booked a case against Bangalore Club under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 341/323/324/506 for criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint and voluntarily hurting others.

Cubbon Park police have maintained that there was no case filed against Bangalore Club. But a senior police official told DNA, “Based on the complaint (of the youths), we have taken up a case of assault against the club members and security guards, and are investigating. We will conduct an identification parade to track the accused involved in the incident.”