Twelve West named in civil suit alleging sexual assault

A civil claim related to the alleged sexual assault of a Kamloops woman in a Vancouver nightclub has been filed in B.C. Supreme Court.

Listed as defendants are the Twelve West nightclub, 1219 Granville Street and Tajinder Sangha.

Plaintiff Yoshnika Shah claims on Oct. 23, 2015, she was found “in an immobile state” on a couch in the club and was picked up by staff and put in the kitchen where she was sexually assaulted by Sangha, who had entered the club through an open back door. These claims have not been proven in court. Shah also claims several cameras were located in the area where she was assaulted and she is requesting video evidence.

Shah claims she contacted the Vancouver Police Department and visited a doctor after the alleged assault. She further claims the nightclub did not provide video from the night to police and “tampered and destroyed” video evidence.

VPD declined to comment, citing respect for the court process.

Twelve West responded to a request for comment with a statement: “The first time we heard anything about these allegations is when they were published online, nearly two years after the incident is alleged to have occurred. We have never been contacted by the police about this. We did not and would never destroy evidence of any kind.”

Shah told Postmedia News “It’s very important for women to be standing up for their rights and to be strong enough to have the courage to fight (over) something that has been done wrong to them.”

Shah is seeking more than $18 million in relief, including general damages, loss of income and future earning capacity and cost of future care.

The defendants have not yet responded to the civil claim.