Pune: Hinjawadi police have booked FML Lounge owner, manager and their other accomplices on charges of assaulting stealing a gold chain from a youth who had questioned another customer for harassing a girl. The incident took place on December 31,2020 night 9.30pm onwards till the wee hours of January 1, 2021.

Ninad Prashant Sonpawale (25), a resident of Maskarnis Colony in Talegaon Dabhade, has lodged a complaint in this regard. Based on his complaint, police have booked the ‘unidentified’ suspects under sections 392 (Punishment for robbery), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to a complaint filed by Sonpawale, he and his friends - Bala Bhosale and Harish Dabhade – had gone to have dinner at the FML lounge in Hinjawadi on December 31 night at around 9.30. While they were seated at a table, another customer – in an inebriated condition - on the next table was troubling a girl.

Harish Dabhade saw that the girl was uncomfortable and hence questioned the customer on why he was doing so. The customer then started beating up Dabhade and also Bhosale who tried to intervene in the matter. The hotel manager, meanwhile, helped the customer and his friend to escape from the back door of the hotel.

Harish Dabhade then called up his brother Yashwant and asked him to come to the FML lounge. When Yashwant Dabhade asked the hotel manager about why he let those people escape, the manager started abusing him. So Yashwant Dabhade slapped him. The manager informed the hotel owner about the incident.

The owner arrived along with some boys at the hotel. They started beating up Ninad, Harish and Yashwant with wooden sticks. During this altercation, Ninad’s gold chain weighing 20 gram was stolen by someone.