Pebble brawl: Youths hit head constable, say cops

Bangalore: It appears that sons of Embassy Group Managing Director Jitendra Virwani, who were allegedly involved in a bar fight on the night of January 12 and were subsequently allegedly detained by the police but ‘rescued’, are still not in the clear.

In a new twist to the brawl involving Karan and Aditya Virwani, their friends Julian and Ayush, the High Grounds police and the management of Pebble bar in Sadashivanagar, bar manager Mathew C.J. and the policemen, who were allegedly attacked, have pointed fingers at Virwani's sons and their friends for allegedly pelting them with stones and physically assaulting them.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Mylarappa, who is one of the three complainants, alleged that Head Constable Jagadish was beaten up by Karan and Aditya Virwani, who fled from the scene even as their friends Julian and Ayush were being made to sit inside a Hoysala jeep for throwing stones at the driver, Venkatesh, and at bouncers of the bar.

Here’s what happened according to the police: ASI Mylarappa and Venkatesh were on night patrol in a Hoysala, when around 11 pm, they heard commotion and saw a crowd of nearly 20 people in front of Princess Academy in Palace Grounds. They found four drunken boys and one girl trying to get back inside Pebble bar while arguing with and abusing the bouncers outside and a bunch of autorickshaw drivers.

The cops noticed that the situation was getting out of hand as the boys began raining blows on the bouncers and called for a backup. The High Grounds police tried to stop the boys from assaulting the bouncers and asked them to get inside the Hoysala, but the group allegedly started throwing stones at the driver, injuring him.  

Using minimum force, the police managed to catch hold of Julian and Ayush, and seated them inside the Hoysala. However, Karan and Aditya Virwani allegedly hit head constable Jagadish, who was trying to coax them into the vehicle, and escaped from the spot, according to a senior officer who is part of the investigations.

Manager of Pebble bar, Mathew, has made similar accusations against the youngsters. He claims that the trouble began around 10.40 pm when the youngsters were asked to leave the premises after one of them was found smoking a suspicious substance.

When the staff asked the group to leave, they refused, and reportedly began beating them up. Four bouncers, Zia, Mohin, Lernit and Raj, came up to the youngsters and told them they had to leave, but the inebriated boys allegedly tried hitting the bouncers with empty beer bottles. The group was then forcibly taken outside, but the matter did not end there.

The youngsters started hurling stones and rocks at the bouncers and vehicles in the parking lot, claims Mathew. It was when the bouncers and autorickshaw drivers tried to calm the group and send them off the premises that the police intervened.

Senior police officers told this newspaper that they were in possession of the CCTV footage from the night of the incident, which clearly showed the Virwani brothers and their friends attacking the bouncers of Pebble bar and the police. Further investigations are underway.