New Delhi: Kanta Prasad, the owner of popular eatery Baba Ka Dhaba in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, has filed a complaint against Instagram influencer Gaurav Wasan for misappropriation of funds, police said on Sunday.
Prasad (80) had shot to fame after a video of him tearfully recounting the desperation of the months since the lockdown was shared widely across social media platforms recently.
Ironically, Prasad’s despair had come to light when Wasan captured the eatery owner breaking down as he talked about his struggles in a video shared on the YouTuber’s social media account.
In his complaint to police, Prasad said Wasan shot his video and posted it online and convinced the public on social media to donate money to the eatery onwer.
He futher alleged that Wasan “intentionally and deliberately shared only his and his family/friends bank details and mobile numbers with the donors and collected huge amount of donation through different mode of payments i.e bank account/wallets without providing any information to the complainant”.
The owner of the food joint also accused the YouTuber of not providing details of the financial transactions to him.
We received the complaint yesterday at the Malviya Nagar Police Station and the matter is being probed. No FIR has been registered yet in the case, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said.
After the video went viral, Baba ka Dhaba was the cynosure of many eyes across the country, including celebs from showbiz who posted appeals asking people to go there and get themselves a meal.
A day after the heartbreaking video, #Babakadhaba was trending on Twitter and the food joint was flooded with more customers than it had seen in 30 years of being in business.
Gaurav releases bank statement
Gaurav has now revealed his bank statements on Facebook through his official page Swaad. It shows the detailed statement of all donors.
The amount transferred to an account with the name of ‘Baba’ is also displayed.
Scrapping all allegations, Wasan said to Hindustan Times: “I had given him (dhaba owner, Kanta Prasad) a check of Rs 2.33 lakh, and transferred Rs 1 lakh to his account, which completes the Rs 3.33 lakh that I had received as donation in his name. I’m in the process of arranging bank statements to prove the same.”
“All allegations that have been levelled against me are false. On October 9, I had assured Baba that his money was safe with me, and I have a proof of the same. I’m in the process of arranging bank statements to prove the same.” he added.