Hitesha Chandranee, the Bengaluru-based social media influencer who had accused a Zomato employee of assaulting her, on Thursday denied reports that she had left the city to evade the police investigation in the case.
“I have been cooperating with the police and have not left Bengaluru as spread by various quarters,” she said in a statement released on Instagram. “Bengaluru is home for me...I live by myself in Bengaluru and the past few days have been very difficult for me and I am worried about my safety.”
Reports had said that Chandranee left Bengaluru after her address was leaked through videos shared online.
The makeup artist and model alleged that she had been harassed, abused and threatened. “I have kept my silence as anything I say gets twisted. I do not have any PR agency to support or back me. I have had to take medical treatment for my nose which was fractured due to the incident,” Chandranee said.
She wrote that she has been hounded across social media platforms, in addition to people using “repulsive” and “threatening” words in calls and messages.
“Online narratives say that I asked for free food, but it was Zomato which had an offer that they would not charge me, if the food was delivered late,” the statement said. “People unconnected with the incident have been commenting without knowing the ramifications their words might cause. The posts made by certain celebrities which accuse me of being responsible for the incident have hurt me immensely as these are the people I look upto. The comments of such people have an impact.”
Chandranee said she would not put her life, reputation and respect at risk by orchestrating anything.
The incident
On March 9, Chandranee posted a video on social media accusing a Zomato delivery executive, later identified as Kamaraj, of assaulting her. A first information report, based on Chandranee’s complaint, was registered on March 10.
In her complaint, Chandranee stated that she told Kamaraj that she will not pay the bill as it was delivered 59 minutes late. The makeup artist alleged that in response, he abused her and punched her nose with his fist. Kamaraj was booked under sections 504 (intentional insult) and 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. He was later released on bail and temporarily suspended from Zomato.
On March 11, Kamaraj refuted the allegations that he barged into the woman’s house without provocation, and punched her. He said the woman accidentally hit her nose with a ring on her finger as she was trying to push away his hand.
On March 15, Kamaraj filed a complaint against Chandranee, accusing her of abusing him and repeatedly hitting him with her sandal. The police then booked Chandranee under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 355 (assault or criminal force), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Bengaluru Police have said that the woman will be summoned for questioning after they have collected evidence in the case.
Amid the accusations and counter-accusations, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal had said on March 12 that the company was helping both Kamaraj and Chandranee.
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