A Bengaluru corporator allegedly assaulted the owner of a food truck in the city on Thursday evening.
Shakthi Subburao (38), runs Gypsy Kitchen, a food truck business in the HSR Layout area of the city. On Thursday, the local corporator Gurumurthy Reddy allegedly arrived in an inebriated condition with eight other people and asked Shakthi to move the vehicles from the spot.
In the video, Reddy can be seen asking Shakthi to remove the vehicle in a loud voice, to which Shakthi responds with “Take your hands off me.” Soon, both are struggling with each other.
“If they are against us selling food from food trucks then they should ban momo sellers, chat wallahs, 99 Variety Dosa stalls too,” Shakthi told The News Minute on Friday. He refused to remove the vehicle as he parks in the food truck in a spot designated to them by the BBMP informally.
“We are not doing anything against the law. In fact, we have required certificates from the government as compared to the other small stalls. We park in our designated spot and even give the cops Rs20-30 so that they don’t interrupt business,"said Shakthi.
When the corporator told me to remove the stall, I calmly asked him to tell how to get permit. He raised his voice and started abusing me,” Shakthi said.
However, he says the corporator allegedly assaulted him along with his associates. He has sustained injuries on his back, arms, and face.
"I only grabbed his shirt to protect myself from being hit. He was loud and abusive. When I did so, some others came from behind and hit me."
"Most of the assault was aimed at the face and head. They threw a chair on me too,"said Shakthi.
Varun Shrikanth, president of Bengaluru food truck association said that the police refused to take the complaint against the corporator on Thursday night, claiming the police inspector was not in station. Police spoke to Shakthi harshly, asked him to withdraw the complaint and warned him against speaking to the media.
Shakthi met the HSR Layout Inspector at 10 am on Friday, following which an FIR has been registered. ACP South East T Venkatesh said that a case of assault had been registered but declined to comment further.
Asked about the allegations, Reddy, elected on a BJP ticket, said he was passing by the area and saw a few men fighting near the truck. “I went to see what was happening. When I asked, it was Shakthi who first grabbed my shirt. I then beat up both parties and left.”
Asked why he resorted to physical assault, Reddy said: “There was no other way. They were blocking the traffic.” He claimed that BBMP had given Shakti a spot on 17th Main not 27th Main.