Bengaluru pub inspection: Andhra IAS officer, three others booked over assault on police personnel

An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre and three others have been booked in Bengaluru after a police inspector accused them of assaulting and abusing him and his colleagues during a late-night inspection at a pub, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place around 1.30 am on October 10 within the limits of Cubbon Park police station, according to the police. The complaint was lodged by an inspector who has been attached to the Central Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Squad for the past six months.

The inspection followed an order from the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner on October 9 to check suspicious persons at bars and restaurants late at night in the jurisdictions of Cubbon Park and Ashok Nagar police stations.

The inspector and other personnel visited a pub to check customers’ identity documents and verify their ages. According to the first information report (FIR), four people picked an argument with the inspector over a minor issue before allegedly abusing and assaulting the police personnel.

The complaint names IAS officer Vikas Marmat, Abhay Udaysingh, Nithish and Roshan. They have been accused of obstructing the inspector from performing his official duties, assaulting and abusing police personnel, and threatening them.

Cubbon Park police station registered a case under Sections 115(2), 351(2), 352, 132 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The provisions relate to voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, assault or criminal force against a public servant to deter them from performing their duty, and common intention, respectively.