Seven injured in brawl at club in MG Road mall

A scuffle broke out at the Phantom night club in MGF Metropolitan Mall on MG Road late Wednesday, after a group of at least 23 men, who were celebrating a friend’s birthday, were refused service after midnight.

At least seven persons were severely injured and rushed to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Two of them sustained fractures and were discharged after treatment on Thursday morning, the police said.

The police said the brawl broke out at the club after the group was refused drinks and asked to leave. The club officials said they had stopped the service after midnight, as per the excise rules.

Danish Makkar, a Faridabad resident who had booked the venue, alleged that one of the bouncers had a pistol and threatened to shoot at them. “We had reached the club around 9.20pm and my friend Mohit had paid ₹23,000 through his debit card. We were dancing and enjoying the party when suddenly they stopped the service and said they were out of drinks. We went to the bartender and requested him to serve drinks, but they refused and pushed us away from the bar,” said Makkar.

“They kicked and punched us. The victims pleaded, but to no avail,” he said in his complaint to the police. The complainant told the police that the bouncers and staff members of club behaved rudely, started threatening and abusing them.

However, the club owner said that the guests were demanding liquor beyond the scheduled time, despite informing them that the bar was closed. He said they started abusing the staff, following which the staff asked them to leave. “There were only three staff members at the time of the incident. The guests were the first to start the scuffle and we were adhering to the rules and regulations of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, not to operate beyond midnight,” the owner said.

As the scuffle escalated, one of the visitors called the police, who took the injured persons to the hospital.

Karan Goel, assistant commissioner of police (DLF), said, “The turban of a guest came off in the ensuing scuffle and a club staff dragged him out of the club and threatened him to leave the place. The incident went on for about 30 minutes. The victims have identified the bouncers and the manager involved in the incident.”

Goel said the police have seen the CCTV footage of the incident and the club staff has been asked to submit it to them. “It shows the bouncers and the staff beating up the youngsters and dragging them out,” Goel said.

A case under sections 323 (causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 148 (unlawful assembly), 149 (common objective) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal code was registered against six persons, including the club manager, at the DLF Phase 2 police station on Friday.

No arrest has been made so far. “We will examine the footage further and take necessary action,” Goel said.

First Published: Jul 26, 2019 21:39 IST