'Denied entry': Drunk Bengaluru techie strips naked outside Bangalore Club, blocks car, fights cops

BENGALURU: A 55-year-old techie, under the influence of alcohol, stood stark naked at the Lavelle Road entrance to the iconic Bangalore Club on Monday afternoon, tried to block a car and fought with security personnel and police when he was denied entry into the club.

Rajesh Anant, settled in the US with wife and children, was on a visit to Bengaluru to see his father A Anantharaman, a life member of the club. His family lives in an apartment off St Mark's Road.



The unseemly incident unfolded in three parts in under 15 hours after Rajesh forgot his phone at the club on Sunday evening and made attempts to collect the device on Sunday night and Monday.

Non-members are not allowed to enter the 158-year-old club if not accompanied by a member.

In a notice, Bangalore Club said it has handed Ananthraman a one-month suspension effective Feb 2 and barred Rajesh from entering its premises for the latter's "ungentlemanly" behaviour at the club. The club declared Rajesh ‘persona non grata'.

What should have been a peaceful and intimate dinner at the club on Sunday night between the father and the son left a bad taste when Rajesh, on reaching home, realised he had left his phone behind.

Immediately, Rajesh returned to the club. Security personnel stopped Rajesh at the gate since he was not accompanied by a member. Rajesh, allegedly drunk, got into heated arguments with club officials. "A little later, he was seen trying to climb the compound. However, he did not scale it," an investigating officer said.

By Monday afternoon, troubles multiplied when Rajesh went to the club and shouted at security personnel after they stopped him a second time. A while later, police were summoned. By then, Rajesh had taken his clothes off and was behaving abnormally with not a stitch on.

Just then, the drama got uglier when a red car exiting the club was stopped by the techie. Asked to give way, one of the security personnel hit Rajesh on his bare back with a stick. Rajesh, unshaken, stood firm. The driver of the car drove away, throwing Rajesh onto the road and injuring him.

"Rajesh, in the buff, fought with everyone from the club and then with police. Club officials called his father, who rushed to the spot. Police and others forced Rajesh to wear clothes and he was sent back," a senior police officer said.

Rajesh filed a complaint against the club security guard and the driver of the car with Cubbon Park police, confessing he was in an inebriated condition when the incident took place and that he sustained injuries in the melee. A cop from Cubbon Park police station filed another complaint, accusing Rajesh of creating a public nuisance and obstructing cops on duty.