Bar owner claims inspector threatened to 'kill him in encounter'

 An inspector has been accused of threatening to kill a bar owner and his brother in an encounter when they went to his police station to submit the necessary documents to apply for reopening of their establishment in the Majestic area.

The owner of Kajal Bar and Restaurant, Jeevan Patel, claimed on Wednesday that Upparpet police inspector, Prakash Reddy, threatened to kill him and his brother, Vachan Patel, in an encounter. “He abused us in the foulest of language and slapped my brother in the face. He also tried to beat me in his chamber,” Jeevan said at a press conference.

The police raided the bar on Saturday, claiming that the management had violated certain rules. They did not permit the bar to operate ever since. “The inspector misused his authority and raided our outlet even though we abide by all the rules laid down by the High Court to run a ladies service bar. He has done this many a time out of personal vendetta,” Jeevan claimed.

According to Vachan, Reddy  demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 every month to let the bar operate smoothly. “He would send policemen in uniform to our bar as soon as it opened and they would keep sitting there, affecting the business. He has created a fear psychosis among the customers and the lady servants alike,” Vachan stressed. “He is indulging in such acts as we refused to pay him.”

A lady servant at the bar said that the police kept them at a remand home in Koramangala on Saturday night. “We were not given water or food until late Sunday afternoon. They gave us water in a bottle that was kept in toilet. In protest, we ransacked the cell, broke its lock and ran out. The experience was highly traumatic.”
Jeevan claimed that Reddy had demanded the details of women working in the bar. “When Vachan went to the police station with all the details, the inspector lost his cool and threatened to kill us in an encounter,” he said.

The bar owner declared he, along with his staff and lady servants, would stage a protest outside the Upparpet police station to demand action against Reddy. “If the police top brass fail to take action, we’ll set ourselves on fire,” he said. “We have purchased kerosene in huge quantity for this purpose.”
Despite repeated attempts, the inspector was not available for his side of the story.