An outlet of Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad was vandalised by a group of local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters shouting slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, a day after India and Pakistan announced a cease fire pact after days of cross-border attacks. The incident took place in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad on Saturday, May 10. Though named after the city in Pakistan, Karachi Bakery was founded in 1953 by a Sindhi Hindu man named Khanchand Ramnani, who migrated to India during the Partition.
Visuals of the incident show a group of men hitting the bakery’s signboard displaying the work ‘Karachi’ with sticks, while wearing saffron scarves and carrying the Indian flag. They shouted slogans of ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ and ‘Jai Jawan’, alluding to Indian troops and Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces’ military offensive following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Rajiv Gandhi International (RGI) Airport Inspector of Police K Balaraju told TNM that the vandals were associated with the BJP. He also said that nobody was injured in the incident. “Police officials in the area stopped the vandalism and an FIR has been registered under Section 126 (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other sections pertaining to damage to property,” he added.
The incident comes a mere few days after the owners of Karachi Bakery, Rajesh and Harish Ramnani, appealed to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Director General of Police (DGP) Dr Jitender for support and guidance. Karachi Bakery has often been targeted whenever tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated.
“We are proudly Indian,” Karachi Bakery had recently said in a statement on its Instagram handle amid the escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan. “Our name is part of our history, not our nationality,” it added.
Karachi Bakery was established by Khanchand Ramnani, Harish and Rajesh’s grandfather, 72 years ago in Hyderabad. It is popular for its biscuits and baked goods.
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, members of right-wing groups in Hyderabad have been placing the Indian flag on the signboards of several Karachi Bakery outlets. A right-wing group in Visakhapatnam, too, had called a protest at one of the stores on May 6, demanding that the business remove the word ‘Karachi’ from its name.