Two cases of couples enjoying a night out being assaulted in the city in the space of a few months has put the spotlight on the safety of pub-goers and people having a meal late evening in its many restaurants. Are the police and owners of these establishments doing enough to protect Bengalureans having a taste of the city's nightlife? Mujahid Deputy reports.
Bengaluru may boast of a thriving nightlife, but it comes at a cost as those enjoying a night out have reported nightmarish experiences in the city of late. As recently as December 6, an Australian national and his Indian origin wife were assaulted by two drunk men at around 1 am outside a pub in Indiranagar which had no security guard to come to their rescue. But thankfully, the police appeared in the nick of time and arrested the two men, Ramesh Ankur (30) and Rohan Ramesh (32), both currently working in the USA and booked them under IPC sections 354 (sexual harassment), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention).
But this is not the only such attack reported this year. On May 9, a 23-year woman and her male friend were assaulted twice on the same night by two different gangs. What was worse in this case was the police’s apathy in registering a complaint. Although the incident took place in the early hours of May 9 and the complaint was filed at 12 noon the same day, the Jeevan Beema Nagar (JB Nagar) police did not act until the city police commissioner’s office intervened and ordered it to register a case on May 16.
The nightmare for the couple, Sunil and Sapna, began after they stepped out of a restaurant at 2 am on a deserted road. Two bike-borne men stopped before them and beat up Sunil and misbehaved with Sapna.
While they managed to get away from this devilish duo, their ordeal had not ended as on reaching HAL main road, they were attacked by another gang that beat up Sunil with sticks and bricks and dragged Sapna to a cricket ground nearby. “I shouted for help and within minutes two men came and rescued Sapna,” Sunil recalls.
But while in both cases the couples were eventually rescued, what is of concern is the lack of security, which allowed the brazen attacks. A lot of pubs and restaurants do not have security even today to protect their customers and now many Bengalureans are beginning to think it is a necessity. The police should make it mandatory for all pubs and restaurants that are open late night to deploy security guards outside to help people make their way safely home, they say. Or perhaps the police should identify sensitive areas where pubs and restaurants are located and increase their patrolling in these parts, they suggest.
Ask Additional Commissioner of Police (East), Seemanth Kumar Singh, and he says such incidents can only be averted if the pubs and restaurants too actively participate in ensuring the security and safety of their customers through installing CCTV cameras and other measures.
"Often pub and restaurant owners don’t report fights inside or outside their premises although in most cases they tend to snowball into bigger brawls, ending in assault. Though we have increased night patrolling around pubs and restaurants, especially in the sensitive areas, the bouncers and security guards deployed by these establishments too need to do their bit," Mr. Singh stresses, warning that eventually pub and restaurant owners will also be held responsible for such incidents.
Pub, Restaurant owners held accountable
While police have asked the pub and restaurant owners to report any untoward incident happening in their premises, one of them told on condition of anonymity that reporting so would further bring them the trouble. "Scuffles and minor fights a daily saga in pubs. If we report them to police, it would not only become a big issue but also bring disrepute to our pubs if the issue is reported in the media. We prefer to solve them within the premises," he said.
Night out not safe in Bengaluru
While the assault incidents are more in or outside pubs in 2018, the sexual assaults against women are as follows:
- May 9, 2018: A 23-year-old techie was sexually assaulted twice. First in Koramangala near Empire Restaurant by two bike-borne men and second time when she also g with her friend Sunil reached near a Government school in JB Nagar cross. The second time she was sexually assaulted by a 10-member gang who almost raped her. Thanks to the intervention from public who saved the lady.
- November 18, 2018: A 22-year-old woman working with an online news portal was sexually harassed by her colleague at a pub in Koramangala.
- December 6, 2018: An Australian national and his Indian origin wife were assaulted by two drunk men outside Swing Pub in Indira Nagar.
Increase number of CCTV cams: Police
At a meeting with pub and restaurant owners early this year to discuss the safety of their customers, the police asked them to increase the number of CCTV cameras on their premises and appoint security guards.
While a few pub and restaurant owners did comply, others say they find it difficult to appoint security guards as they cannot afford them. Also, although the police have asked the pub and restaurant owners to report brawls on their premises, they hardly ever do as they believe it will bring them only more trouble.
"Scuffles and minor fights are a daily scene in pubs. If we report them to the police, they will not only become a big issue, but also bring disrepute to our establishments should the media catch on. So we prefer to handle things ourselves," says a pub owner.
The police claims most unruly incidents take place in pubs because both the attackers and victims are drunk. “We have found that many times it is the victim who picks the fight. There are only a few incidents of unprovoked attacks or sexual assaults,” it maintains.
Also, claiming to have increased night patrolling, a senior police officer says the number of assaults at nights have fallen drastically as a result of it. “Our aim is to ensure that no such incident takes place in the city, be it big or small," he asserts.
But this promise is of little comfort to women in the city like Prachi, a software engineer with a reputed MNC , who confesses that she and her women friends feel unsafe in pubs. "The recent attack on the Australian couple shows how unsafe the city is becoming for women. While police claim they have increased patrolling, we hardly see any cops in the areas where there are not many pubs, although this is where they are needed the most," she says.
