The police at Bhawarna have registered a case against three persons, including a café owner, following an alleged assault and firing incident at a café in the Mansimbal area near Palampur late on Friday night.
According to the complaint filed by Ashish Kumar (23), a resident of Mansimbal village, the incident occurred around 11 pm on June 13, when he and his friends were dining at a café. He alleged that a dispute broke out after he and his friend Paras raised concerns about excess salt in a paneer dish and requested that it be replaced.
The complainant stated that the café owner, identified as Padam Dev, allegedly became abusive and started arguing with them. When Paras began recording the incident on his mobile phone, the owner allegedly snatched and threw away the mobile phone, slapped him and damaged his silver chain.
Ashish further alleged that the café owner then called some persons and instructed them to close the café gate. Shortly thereafter, a man identified as Atul Singh allegedly arrived at the spot, slapped him and, during the altercation, pulled out a pistol and fired into the air. The complainant claimed that two more shots were fired, creating panic among those present.
According to the FIR, Ashish attempted to flee but fell down and was allegedly overpowered by Atul Singh and Padam Dev, who then assaulted him. He further alleged that another accused, Alok Thakur alias Vicky, later joined the assault and allegedly pointed the pistol at his head and threatened to kill him.
The complainant also alleged that the accused damaged his mobile phone when he tried to contact his friends. Pankaj Saini, who came to rescue him, was also allegedly assaulted. The FIR states that Pankaj was reportedly struck on the head with the pistol during the scuffle.
On receiving information, a police team led by ASI Gopal Singh reached the spot and learned that the injured persons had already been shifted to Civil Hospital, Bhawarna. The police recorded statements of the injured and obtained their medico-legal examination reports.
Based on the complaint, the Bhawarna police have registered a case against Padam Dev, Atul Singh and Alok Thakur under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act. Further investigation is in progress.
The police said the allegations were based on the complainant’s statement and the exact sequence of events would be established during the course of investigation.
