UP: Customer locked in room, assaulted by retail store staff; 14 booked

Gorakhpur (UP), Dec 29 (PTI) A customer was allegedly locked inside a room in a a retail store and beaten up by staff members, police said on Monday as they registered a case in the matter and booked 14 people.

The incident occurred at the Mohaddipur outlet on Sunday afternoon and led to the registration of an FIR against 14 people on Sunday night, including two named employees and unidentified staff.

According to a complaint lodged by Mohaddipur resident Karan Singh, he had gone shopping with his family and reached the billing counter after selecting household items.

During billing, he briefly stepped away to pick up additional items, leaving his goods at the counter. In the meantime, the cashier allegedly started billing another customer, triggering an argument on his return, he claimed.

However, a video of the incident that has since gone viral, which purportedly shows Karan slapping a staff member, leading some bystanders to claim that the customer initiated the altercation. Soon after, other store employees allegedly intervened.

Karan has accused 10-12 staff members of dragging him into a room, locking it, and assaulting him by kicking and punching him while his family shouted for help outside, the police said.

He claims to have sustained serious injuries.

Based on his complaint, police late on Sunday night registered a case against billing counter staffer Shyam Chaubey, Ranveer, and others.

The police said the store staff is also preparing to file a counter-complaint, claiming injuries.

SHO of Cantt police station Sanjay Singh on Monday said the matter is under investigation and CCTV footage will be examined to ascertain the sequence of events before further action. PTI COR NAV NB NB