Five people, including three bouncers, a nightclub manager and his wife, have been arrested after a Delhi driver died following an alleged assault at a club near Ashok Park Metro station, police said on October 13.
The incident took place late on October 10 at Tor House nightclub in the Sarai Rohilla police station area. The deceased, identified as Daljeet, was a resident of Raghuvir Nagar and is survived by his wife, an eight-year-old son and his father.
According to police, Daljeet had gone to the nightclub with five or six friends when liquid spilled on the wife of the club manager. A verbal altercation followed, after which bouncers were called. Daljeet and his friends allegedly apologised and asked the group to stop, but the assault continued, police said.
Friends of the deceased told mediapersons that the group was beaten with sticks and glass bottles. They alleged that when they tried to leave, the bouncers dragged them back inside. One friend, Sunny, who suffered a minor head injury, said the group was “thrashed brutally”. The friends also alleged that one of the accused brandished a firearm and that cash and two mobile phones were taken from them. Police are examining these allegations.
Daljeet sustained severe injuries, including a fractured jaw, according to the account provided by his friends. They took him from the club to his home in Raghuvir Nagar. He later collapsed near the entrance of the house and was taken by his wife and friends to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police said he had returned home after the assault and was feeling unwell before being taken to hospital.
The police have seized the nightclub’s digital video recorder and are examining the CCTV footage to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify any other people involved. The victim’s friends said the footage captured the assault and demanded strict action against those responsible.
The family has also alleged that it called the police control room during the incident, but that a police response vehicle arrived outside the club and left without conducting an inquiry. Police are looking into the allegation.
A separate part of the investigation concerns whether the nightclub had the required permissions to operate late at night. Police have sought records from the Excise Department and the Licensing Branch, according to information provided in connection with the case. The permissions review could establish whether the venue was operating within the applicable licensing conditions at the time of the incident.
Daljeet’s wife, Pooja, said he was the sole breadwinner of the family and sought justice for herself and their eight-year-old child. The arrests have been made as police continue to investigate the alleged assault, the circumstances of Daljeet’s death, the response during the incident and the nightclub’s operating permissions.
