A row broke out at the Sasi Institute of Technology and Engineering in Andhra Pradesh's Tadepallegudem earlier this week, after one of the directors of the college was caught on camera, smashing a large cake and telling students to disperse from the grounds they were in. The incident took place on Saturday, when the students were celebrating the birthday of Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief and actor-politician Pawan Kalyan.
The director was identified as Narendra Krishna Meka.
The video showed Krishna walking up to the students, who had placed a massive cake on top of two parked bikes, even as a larger group of young men watch on. The director then pulled the cake off the bike and let it fall to the ground. He then went on to flip it and step on it, thereby smashing it completely.
Following the incident, students accused the management of being biased against Pawan Kalyan, and pointed out that other students had earlier celebrated the birthday of actors like Prabhas, within the college premises.
Watch the video that first surfaced below.
This man director of Sasi engineering college interrupted #JANASENANIBdayCelebrations #HappyBirthdayPawanKalyan#Janasenanibirthday#Janasenadonationday pic.twitter.com/paP4LWVqEf
— Vineeth (@Vineeth07230370) September 1, 2019
However, Krishna Meka was quick to question media reports and said that there was more to the incident, than just the video doing the rounds on social media. Krishna claimed that he stepped in to break up the celebrations as a huge crowd had gathered and the students were being unruly.
In a statement, he said, "My only intention is to control the situation but not humiliate anyone. I have great respect towards Pawan Kalyan garu, those who personally know me can tell you about that. With the same respect I apologize to all the fans and JSP members."
Krishna said that the students had even invited other outsiders to the celebrations, who were creating a ruckus.
"Considering all that, I flipped the cake. Maybe I should have saved it and given it to them later, but I was furious at that moment. Once again my intentions are as pure as a parent towards a child, and nothing more. Please understand and accept my apologies," he added.
Krishna then went on to host an event on Monday, where he celebrated Pawan Kalyan's birthday with a cake of the same size. JSP leader from Tadepallegudem, Bolisetty Srinivas, was also present at the event. A video of the fresh celebrations were also shared widely.
Meka narendra krishna -Sasi college #happybirthdaypowerstar #happybirthdaypavankalyan #TrendPSPK pic.twitter.com/ZbJWzc5Bsc
— Nagendra (@naag4ever) September 2, 2019