Ahata manager, owner attacked by group of five men in Sector 74

A 33-year-old manager of an ahata — an authorised open space for liquor consumption — in Sector 74 on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway was severely injured while its owner sustained minor injuries, after a group of five men assaulted and robbed them of ₹1

A 33-year-old manager of an ahata — an authorised open space for liquor consumption — in Sector 74 on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway was severely injured while its owner sustained minor injuries, after a group of five men assaulted and robbed them of ₹1.60 lakh cash, said the police.

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The police said the suspects, who also ran a roadside eatery shop nearby and served alcohol illegally, often misbehaved with the victims. They often came to the ahata and abused guests, said the police, adding that professional rivalry between them seems to be the main reason behind the attack.

Ranjeet Singh, manager of the ahata, said that he was closing his shop at around 2.30am on Saturday when two men, identified as Sonu and Titu, came up to him and started threatening him. They told him to run their operations according to the terms dictated by them. “I was about to leave along with two of my staff members, when these two men came up to me and started abusing and pushing me,” he said.

Singh said he rushed inside the ahata but the suspects called their friends and together they assaulted him again. One of them hit his head with a stick, following which he fell on the ground. They snatched ₹1.60 lakh from him.

When Singh’s employer came to the spot, the suspects thrashed him as well. The staff informed the police control room and took Singh to a private hospital where he underwent treatment. Both Singh and his employer recorded their statements to the police on Saturday evening, following which a case was registered at the Badshahpur police station under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (assault),427 (mischief causing damage),452 (House trespass), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The victims told police that the CCTV cameras and digital video recorders installed at the ahata were damaged by the suspects. However, there were two more eyewitnesses, who are willing to record their statements.

This is the fourth such incident in the last four months in the same place. Professional rivalry between ahata owners is the main reason between such frequent clashes, said the police.Naveen Kumar, station house officer(SHO), Badshahpur police station, said that a team from the police station was sent to the spot but the suspects had fled by then. “We have registered the case against five men, two of whom have been identified, while the rest are yet to be identified and arrested,” he said.