Elevator firm staff beaten up over ‘work delay’; building owner, aides booked

LUCKNOW Five employees of an elevator firm were allegedly assaulted and locked in a room by a private airline promoter and his aides at the latter’s four-storey office-cum residence at Gomti Nagar Extension on Monday, after a dispute over alleged delay in lift installation work at the residence of the accused, said police.

Prabhat Lohani, a sales representative from the firm, alleged that the incident took place when he and his four colleagues were carrying out lift installation work at the building owned by Sagam Abhiral Agarwal in Vardan Khand.

“A case has been registered against Agarwal and his six aides on charges of wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and assault ,” said SHO, Gomti Nagar Extension, Sudhir Awasthi.

“Agarwal, along with his aides Sarwan Vishwakarma, Alok Pandey, Upendra Singh, and three unidentified men, locked all of us in a room and assaulted us. They even threatened to kill us,” Lohani claimed in his police complaint.

Lohani said they were rescued after their company’s HR head, Dugesh Pandey, informed UP112 and a police team reached the spot.

The police were verifying the background of the accused, including claims regarding the airline business connection. Sources said Agarwal lost his temper as the technicians were unable to repair the lift in his four-storey building.