Resolving bar dispute, Bangalore style

When a group of friends who were drinking in a bar in Nandini Layout Saturday night got into a fight, the bar cashier called in a local goon to evict the men, who then stabbed to death two of the squabblers.

Dharanish, 25, and Babu, 24, both writers in the RMC yard in Yeshwanthpur were the dead men.

Police arrested the suspected killer, Papu, Sunday morning at Coolie Nagar in Laggere, after shooting him in the leg, when he resisted arrest.

The group including Dharanish and Babu were among in a group of seven friends who went to the Vijaya Bar and Restaurant in Saraswathipuram in Nandini Layout (Bangalore North) for a drink.

After a few rounds, they got into an argument over some past disputes. The argument got out of hand when one among the group broke a beer bottle and threatened another with death. That led to a chain-reaction, with some others in the group too breaking bottles and threatening each other.

Bar cashier Ramesh alias Kempa intervened, asking them to keep quiet. When they refused to pay heed, he asked them to pay up for the damage and take their fight outside.

The brawlers then turned their attention to the cashier and the waiters. With the squabblers refusing to pipe down or leave even though it was past closing time, the employees of the bar closed the main door. When the group refused to leave, Ramesh, instead of summoning police, called in a local rowdy, Yuvaraj alias Papu.

By the time Papu arrived on the scene with a group of his associates, the group had walked out of the bar. Papu picked a fight with the group, and as the argument got heated, Papu allegedly stabbed Dharanish and Babu with knives and empty beer bottles. Dharanish died on the spot, and Babu breathed his last as he was being taken to a private hospital nearby. They were residents of Someshwaranagar and lived with their parents.

Deputy commissioner of police (North) SN Sidramappa said the murders could have been averted had the bar’s cashier Ramesh informed the police instead of calling in local rowdies. “Since the cashier is at fault, we will book him also for the murder,” Sidramappa said.

Nandini Layout police have discovered that Papu and the dead men had a few run-ins in the past. Sidramappasaid Papu was involved in four cases including a murder and an attempt to murder.
The bodies of Dharanish and Babu were shifted to MS Ramaiah Hospital for post mortem examination. The Nandini Layout police have registered a case of murder and are investigating.