WASHINGTON D.C., DC — WUSA9 has a major update to a story we know people have been following closely. It is the case of the deadly punch outside Akedo that claimed the life of Vivek Taneja, a Northern Virginia Tech Executive.
WUSA9 just learned the grand jury declined to press charges against the man who delt that fatal blow.
Sources close to the investigation tell WUSA9 police gathered hours of surveillance video from dozens of cameras from the courtyard outside Akedo at 15th and L Streets, NW. That evidence was handed over to the US Attorney's Office and based on the video, law enforcement sources confirm the grand jury declined to press charges.
WUSA9 was the first to report what investigators told the DC Alcoholic Beverage Control board back in May that a grand jury was deciding the fate of the person of interest police said punched Vivek Taneja outside Akedo in February. Police said the 41-year-old executive at Dynamo Technologies, LLC hit his head on the concrete falling into a coma. He died a week later.
“He was a very generous person,” a neighbor told WUSA9 in February, “he wasn't someone who was looking for trouble was always willing to help others. I'm in shock.”
Now, a month after learning about the secret grand jury proceedings, law enforcement sources confirm that the grand jury declined to indict the former police officer. WUSA9 has learned the man served with Arlington County Police from 2012 to 2014.
Restaurant managers testified before the ABC board in May that “neither party appeared to be overserved or for that matter intoxicated.”
Both men attended a soft opening for Akedo and sources tell us they left 12 minutes apart. Once outside, police said the man was being inappropriate with Taneja's date and as he tried to defend her the two got into a physical altercation. The ABC Board found Akedo was not responsible for the deadly fight. A spokesperson for Akedo maintained as much in a statement told WUS9, "the altercation took place in the courtyard and the victim was found roughly 300 feet away from our doors and outside of our site lines."
There are still a number of unanswered questions including what were the exact charges the grand jury was considering and what did the members see in the video that led them to decline those charges.
We are still waiting for the US Attorney’s Office to get back to us with those answers.