Man dies after brawl turns violent at Noida pub; wife alleges foul play
NOIDA: A 30-year-old man died after he was assaulted during a brawl at a pub in Sector 38A on Monday night. Police said that the man and his colleagues, all employees of a private firm, were involved in an argument with the pub staffers over the bill, which escalated. The man was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead in arrival.
Additional deputy police commissioner Ranvijay Singh said seven employees of the firm, located in Sector 82, gathered at the Lost Lemons pub for a party. “The customers ordered alcohol and food. Around 11pm when they ordered more wine, the staffers asked them to pay their bill and leave as it was closing time. This resulted in an argument between the staffers and the customers, which turned violent. Brijesh Kumar Ray was assaulted and pushed around,” he said.
“Ray’s colleagues rushed him to a hospital in Sector 30 where he died during treatment. The police were informed about the incident at around 1am,” said Singh. A complaint was lodged by Ray’s colleague Arti Thakur.
The police have detained 16 staffers from the pub for questioning. “We assessed the CCTV footage from the pub and saw that the staffers and customers were pushing each other. We have identified eight of the 16 staffers and have also lodged a case under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. The matter is being investigated,” said Singh.
Police also detained six of Ray’s colleagues who were with him at the time of the incident.
The pub is located at Sector 38A’s Gardens Galleria mall. “The incident happened inside the pub and none of the mall employees were involved in the incident,” said an official from the mall, requesting anonymity.
However, according to an official statement from the pub, the incident took place outside the restaurant. “I was informed about the incident by the local police station. The incident took place outside the pub and also involved a few unknown miscreants who were not part of the pub’s security. We don’t have bouncers and are cooperating with the police and have already provided them with the CCTV footage. The pub has been sealed,” said Luv Dhingra, owner of the pub.
Ray’s body was sent for an autopsy, which revealed head injuries and a ruptured spleen as the cause of his death.
Wife demands probe against colleagues
Ray was hired as a purchase manager by the private firm just four months ago, according to his wife Pooja Parashar. The couple has two kids, aged three and five, and has been living in Amrapali Princely Estate apartments in Sector 76 for the last four months.
Pooja, who is a school teacher, alleged that she was not informed about the incident either by his office colleagues or the police.
“My husband left home around 8am and informed me that he will return home late as he had plans to go out with his colleagues after work. It was not unusual as he would often go out with colleagues but he would always return home by 10pm,” Pooja said.
Around 11pm on Monday, when Ray did not return home or call her back on the phone, Pooja called one of his colleagues who gave her the contact of another co-worker Sumit, who had gone with Ray for the party. “When I called Sumit, he did not pick up my calls. I dropped him a message as well. It was only at around midnight that he picked my call and said my husband can’t speak to me,” Pooja added.
“I called Sumit again and this time he told me that Brijesh is not well and his colleagues have brought him to a hospital. I had to make arrangements and was able to reach the hospital at around 2.30am,” said Pooja.
“I saw a large number of police personnel and my husband’s colleagues at the hospital. However, I was asked to wait outside. After waiting for 30 minutes, I demanded answers from his colleagues and I was told that he had passed away but nobody told me what happened. I did not see any bruises on his face or head or body,” Pooja added.
“Why was Brajesh the only one who was beaten up? Instead of getting my husband admitted to the hospital, his colleagues were apparently waiting for the police to arrive at the mall, which delayed his treatment and resulted in his death,” she alleged. She said no one from Ray’s company contacted her so far. The body was handed over to the family late on Tuesday night.