Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Nov 11: The North Goa Fast Track Court has directed that charges, including attempt to murder, be framed against bouncers Sanjay Pal and Manjunath Naik, along with co-accused Hayston Albert, for allegedly assaulting a customer at Assagao’s Soro Club on October 8, 2023.

The court rejected the discharge pleas filed by the two bouncers, who claimed they were only performing their duty as security staff when the incident occurred. They contended that it was co-accused Albert, a customer at the club, who attacked the complainant with a glass bottle, inflicting serious head injuries, while they merely tried to remove the complainant for attempting to enter the ladies’ washroom.

However, the court ruled that the bouncers had a legal duty to restrain the complainant without inflicting harm and to ensure his safety while on the premises. It observed that their inaction during the assault made them complicit in the crime.

“Their failure to protect the victim from the co-accused’s assault, despite being on duty, makes them equally liable,” the court noted, holding that even omission to act amounts to criminal conduct under the law.

The order clears the way for the trial to proceed against all three accused in the 2023 club assault case.