Army Havaldar Alleges Assault by Chandigarh Hard Rock Cafe Bouncer, Suffers Fractured Hand
Chandigarh Police have registered a fresh case against the management of Hard Rock Cafe in Sector 26 after a 42-year-old Army Havaldar alleged that he was assaulted by a bouncer and the cafe’s manager during a late-night altercation, leaving him with a fractured hand.
The incident, according to the complaint, took place in the early hours of the intervening night between Wednesday and Thursday. The Havaldar, who is from Rajasthan and is posted at Army Headquarters, had gone to the cafe with friends when the confrontation broke out between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.
The soldier alleged that a bouncer first got into a fight with him, grabbed him by the neck and threw him out of the premises. He said that when he went to the manager to raise a complaint, the manager abused him and became involved in a scuffle. The Havaldar further claimed that the manager then told the bouncer to push him, after which he fell and injured his hand.
He was taken to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH) in Sector 16, where doctors confirmed a fracture in his hand. Based on his complaint, police at the Sector 26 police station registered a case under Sections 115(2) and 126(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint.
The manager and an unidentified bouncer have been named as accused in the case. Police said neither has been arrested so far and the investigation is continuing.
The new FIR comes just a day after a separate case was lodged against the same establishment’s management. In that matter, the owner, identified in reports as Vijay Kant, along with several unidentified persons, was booked on allegations that they abducted, confined and assaulted a former personal security officer over a salary dispute. That case was registered under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections relating to hurt, wrongful confinement, kidnapping and criminal intimidation.
Police have so far not issued a detailed public statement beyond confirming the latest registration. For now, the Army Havaldar’s version is the main basis of the complaint, and investigators are expected to examine any available closed-circuit television footage from the cafe as part of the probe.
