DOSANGE: EMPLOYEE TAKEN HOSTAGE AFTER THEFT FROM RESTAURANT TILL

A pair of restaurant owners beat an employee with an iron bar after he admitted stealing money from the till, a court heard.

Jasbir Dosange, 30, and his uncle Harmesh Dosange, 46, kept the man captive overnight and forced him to record a bizarre statement on a mobile phone claiming he had been ‘jumped on’ by a group of strangers.

The man was so terrified that he wet himself during the vicious beating, jurors were told.

He was forced to empty his account of nearly £4,000 and call relatives to try to raise more cash after he confessed to stealing.

The Indian student needed hospital treatment for his injuries after the assault, which was intended to ‘make an example’ of him in front of other employees, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

Restaurant owners Jasbir Dosange, 30, and Harmesh Dosange, 46, deny false imprisonment, actual bodily harm and blackmail.

John McNally, prosecuting, said victim had been working at a fish and chip restaurant in Dalston, east London, which was run by Jasbir Dosange.

It was closely linked to a neighbouring curry house, which was owned and managed by Harmesh Dosnage.

The pair apparently turned off CCTV cameras covering the restaurants to hide any evidence before subjecting him to the attack on February 5.

The victim had gone to his boss after realising that money had gone missing from his wallet during a shift, the court heard.

He was asked to come next door where Harmesh Dosange had some ideas to ‘sort this out’.

He was then led into a small back office with both men.

‘He was questioned, not about his money, but about money missing from the till,’ said Mr McNally.

‘When he denied any knowledge of the money missing from the till, he was assaulted.

‘In the face of violence, he retracted his denial and accepted he had taken money from the till.’

‘His admission did him no good, the assault continued, and the defendants turned their minds to demanding money way beyond what he had taken from the till.’

Mr McNally suggested they were motivated by ‘a mixture of vengeance, a desire to humiliate him, and perhaps simple extortion’.

After being slapped hard, the victim admitted he had taken around £1,000 from the till after he had been denied a wage rise several weeks before, which he later confirmed to police.

‘His admission was not good enough for the defendants, they didn’t sack him, they didn’t discipline him, they didn’t call the police, they simply carried on,’ said the prosecutor.

‘He recalls Harmesh picking up an iron bar, Jasbir punching two times in the right eye, causing the skin to split and bleed, and both hitting him.’

The pair insisted that he owed them £20,000, the court heard.

He was forced to make three withdrawals from a cash point within the curry house between 11.30pm and 12.10am which totalled £3,800.

He was then made to call relatives in India and America to try to raise another 40,000 Indian rupees demanded by the pair.

Finally, he was taken to a room above the shop, where the pair continued to make demands for more cash during the night.

The next day, he was driven to his girlfriend’s house nearby, but was not allowed to go until he recorded a message on Harmesh Dosange’s phone, saying he had been ‘jumped on’ by a group of men by a nightclub.

Giving evidence, the 21 year-old said: ‘I thought they were going to kill me,’ he said.

Jasbir Dosange whipped him using the flat side of a three foot sword, while Harmesh Dosange wielded a two foot metal pole, hitting him all over his body, he said.

‘They started hitting me everywhere, especially on my arms and my legs,’ he said.

‘It was the first time in my life someone has beaten me like that.

‘It was like I have fallen down from a mountain and broken everything.’

He added: ‘I was thinking the way they are beating me, they are going to kill me, because they were beating me like animals everywhere,’ he said.

‘They were threatening they will kill me, they will cut me into pieces.

‘They used this word many times.’

‘They were laughing and making fun.’

On arrest, Jasbir Dosange made no comment.

Harmesh said he had discussed the stolen money with the alleged victim, who had given them the money to settle some of what he had stolen.

He also claimed the man had caused his own injuries by banging his head against the wall after being shown CCTV footage of the theft to try to put them off calling police.

Harmesh Dosange, of (61) Drake Road, Chafford Hundred, Grays, Essex; and Jasbir Dosange, of (146) Beaumont Drive, Gravesend, Kent; both deny false imprisonment, actual bodily harm and blackmail.

The trial continues.

ENDS