Chennai pub brawl: Second girl dies after car-borne gang mows down friends; video of attack surfaces

CHENNAI: Five days after a drunk car-borne gang ran over two girls and their friends on a bike, following a quarrel at a Koyambedu pub, an injured 17-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday. Yancy, 18, was killed on the spot on Saturday night. Police are yet to book or arrest the owners of the establishment.

Police said the teenager was undergoing treatment for severe head injuries sustained in the incident that occurred on Saturday night near the Koyambedu flyover.

Based on preliminary findings, the CMBT police registered a murder case and arrested three suspects. Subsequently, four more were arrested by the team. “We are yet to trace three more suspects—Bharathi, Gandhi and Muthukannan,” an officer said. Police said they didn’t include the bar owner in the hit-and-run case.

Police handed over the body of the 17-year-old girl from Ramapuram to her family members. They took the body to their native village, Perambakkam near Tiruvallur, for the final rites.

The vehicle used in the offence was seized, and the bar was temporarily sealed by the authorities.

The fatal incident began as a night out at a Koyambedu star hotel pub, where Yancy, an 18-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil woman, had arrived with five women friends on two-wheelers. Police said the group was drinking and dancing inside the pub when a set of young men, who had come separately in a car, joined them, leading to tensions between the two groups.

The situation soon escalated into a physical confrontation, prompting security staff to intervene and escort both groups out of the premises. However, the clash did not end there, as the dispute continued outside the hotel with further arguments and assault before bouncers again stepped in and dispersed them before closing time.

According to police, after leaving the pub, Yancy and her friends were riding towards Thirumangalam when they were allegedly followed by the rival group in a car. During the chase, Yancy reportedly threw a stone at the car, damaging it. In retaliation, the occupants accelerated and rammed into the two-wheeler, throwing Yancy and her 17-year-old friend onto the road.

Yancy died on the spot due to head injuries, while the 17-year-old girl was admitted in critical condition to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries five days later.

Police later arrested four accused based on CCTV footage and vehicle details, while the car used in the offence was seized. Yancy, who had recently come to Chennai to visit her friend, was a resident of a Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camp in Ariyankuppam, Villupuram, and had completed Class XII.

The victim’s mother, Mary Stella, said Yancy had spoken to her shortly before the incident, telling her she was going out with her friend. “My daughter wanted to study fashion designing and go abroad. Now she is gone. I want justice for my daughter,” she said.

Following the incident, police sealed the bar and are continuing investigations into the sequence of events that triggered the clash inside the establishment.