Nagpur: A Christmas eve celebration at a popular Wardha road pub, Dabo Club, spilled onto the streets and ended with the brutal killing of a 28-year-old man near Pride Hotel Square early Friday. His friend suffered critical injuries and is battling for life at a private hospital. The deceased, Pranay Rannaware, 28, was the only son of his parents and a share broker. At least seven persons have been detained till midnight.A spat began at the pub after a group of revellers was miffed with Pranay and his buddies for refusing to share the phone number of their woman friend, who had flown down from Mumbai to attend the party here. After the fracas, Pranay and his friends walked out of Dabo Club and drove away. The goons, however, chased and intercepted their car near Pride Hotel Square, 800m off the Sonegaon police station. Pranay, his friends Gaurav Karda and Himanshu Khandelwal were dragged out, beaten and stabbed. While Pranay bled to death, Karda’s condition is critical, the woman friend was unhurt and left for the airport to take a Mumbai flight. Pranay’s friend, Himanshu Khandelwal, 32, lodged an FIR at the Sonegaon police station in the morning. A finance professional and resident of Ganeshpeth, he had planned the Christmas eve party at Dabo Club.Khandelwal and his group had booked a table at the pub for Rs 15,000 around 8pm on Thursday. He arrived at the venue around 10.45pm in Karda’s car accompanied by their woman friend. The rest of the group followed in another car driven by Pranay.At the Dabo Club reception, only Khandelwal’s Aadhaar card was checked, while others entered without verification, sources said. The friends settled in, had liquor and danced at their designated space. Trouble brewed when a seven-member group near their table began getting aggressive. Khandelwal overheard them addressing each other as Mehul, Soumya, and Rishi.Tensions rose when Mehul approached Khandelwal’s woman friend around 11pm and asked for her mobile number. Khandelwal and Pranay intervened, refusing to share her number. Pranay also confronted Mehul and questioned his intentions, leading to a verbal spat. Mehul reportedly pointed fingers and abused Khandelwal and Pranay and summoned his friends. To avoid escalation of tension, Khandelwal and his friends decided to leave around 4.20am Friday, only to be followed by Mehul and his group.As Khandelwal and his friends occupied their parked cars, the assaulters blocked their path. Hurling a volley of abuses, Mehul’s friend, Tushar Yadav, dragged Khandelwal and his friends out of their cars.A white car arrived, from which four unidentified individuals — believed to be Mehul’s aides — emerged. Police stated Soumya and Mehul confronted Khandelwal and questioned his refusal to share the woman friend’s phone number. One of the suspects, armed with a sharp weapon, charged at Pranay and stabbed him in the stomach and chest. As Karda and Khandelwal rushed to help, Mehul seized the weapon and stabbed Karda in the stomach.Khandelwal was then grabbed by Rishi, who slapped him 10-12 times, causing him to fall. Khandelwal then saw Mehul and Soumya assaulting Pranay and Karda, who began bleeding profusely. The attackers mentioned names like Rajiv, Abhay, and Honey, before fleeing in their vehicles.Khandelwal rushed Pranay and Karda to a hospital in Khamla, where doctors declared Pranay dead. A seriously injured Karda was admitted to the ICU. Khandelwal remained at the hospital till relatives arrived, before filing the police report.The FIR names Mehul, Soumya, Rishi, Rajiv, Abhay, Honey, Tushar Yadav, and unidentified accomplices from the white car as suspects, who are in the 25-35 age-group. Khandelwal told police he could identify them in an identification parade.Sonegaon police officials confirmed registration of a case under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including murder, attempt to murder, assault, and criminal intimidation. “We are reviewing CCTV footage from the pub and surrounding areas,” said a senior officer. “Teams are searching for the accused based on descriptions provided. The assault appears to stem from a minor dispute that escalated under the influence of alcohol.“
