Guwahati Bar: Woman Stripped, 8 Held
Police arrested eight people, including the manager, event manager and front office executive of The Locals bar in Khanapara, after a woman was stripped and beaten there.
Police arrested eight people, including the manager, event manager and front office executive of The Locals bar in Khanapara, after a woman was stripped and beaten there.
The accused, aged 21 to 30, include three women. Police said most of those involved were linked to the bar's management and staff, among them manager Justin D Areng and event manager Nikebur Zaman Sarkar.
Police found the bar was running at 2.30 am despite a permitted closing time of 12.30 am. The management also never informed the local police station about the assault.
Dispur police registered a suo motu case under BNS sections covering conspiracy, assault and sexual harassment of a woman, grievous hurt and attempt to murder. The police have established the victim's identity.
As outrage grew, police first detained the club manager and questioned staff. Reporters who reached the venue found it locked, with no one from management willing to comment.
Clips that spread online on October 2 showed the woman lying unclothed on the floor as two women kicked her while men stood nearby. Another clip showed a woman trying to help her up.
Footage shows she was first attacked inside the bar around 2.30 am, then dragged by her hair and clothes to the basement, where she was beaten again until she appeared semi-conscious.
The brawl broke out late on Thursday, October 1, at The Locals Cafe and Lounge, a fourth-floor bar on GS Road in Khanapara, Guwahati, before spilling into the building's lower floors.