Jaipur cafe owner beaten up

PABITRA BANERJEE : A 34-year-old cafe owner in Jaipur was brutally ambushed and beaten with iron rods by motorcycle-borne assailants on the street, leaving him critically injured. The victim, identified as Mayank Gopalia, who runs Oven The Bakery Cafe in the city’s Vaishali Nagar area, was returning home on foot after shutting his establishment when he was targeted near his cafe. The incident took place on the night of November 5. According to CCTV footage recovered from the area, assailants armed with iron rods and sticks were waiting near a lane turn close to the cafe. As Gopalia approached, the attackers rushed towards him and repeatedly struck him on the head until he collapsed on the road. Gopalia, seriously injured in the attack, was found lying in a pool of blood by passersby and admitted to Fortis Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery for severe head injuries. According to the employees of the cafe, an employee, Shabana Khan’s husband, Shahrukh, could have attacked Gopalia. Preliminary investigations revealed that an argument had taken place at the cafe earlier on November 5 when Gopalia objected to Shahrukh’s frequent visits during working hours. After a dispute at the cafe, they had threatened to kill Mayank before leaving the premises. The Vaishali Nagar police have registered a case based on a complaint filed by Gopalia’s family and are examining CCTV footage to identify and apprehend all the assailants involved in the assault.