Baba Ka Dhaba owner Kanta Prasad, an 80-year-old man who rose to prominence on social media platforms after his heartrending video of struggling to make ends meet went viral in October, has now alleged that he is receiving death threats and has filed a complaint at the Malviya Nagar police station citing threat to his life.
The 80-year-old Kanta Prasad has hinted that he suspects Swad Official YouTube channel’s Gaurav Wasan’s involvement behind the threats that he has been receiving. Wasan had uploaded the ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’ video on YouTube that instantly catapulted the eatery to fame.
In his complaint with the police, Prasad alleged that people were envious of him as he became famous overnight and stated that he received a first threat call on December 8, when an unknown caller threatened to set his shop ablaze and kill him. Prasad had reportedly received another threat call on December 14, as per a report by ABP News. On the same day, when he went to his shop in the morning, he encountered a group of boys who had ordered tea from his shop. One of the boys in the group threatened him and said that he did not right by filing a complaint against YouTuber Gaurav Wasan. Reportedly, the boy threatened to kill the octogenarian owner of ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’, saying “Chatka Doon Kya?”
Though Prasad’s lawyer has attributed the death threats received by his client to Swad Official’s Gaurav Wasan, the later has rubbished the allegations, stating that the Baba Ka Dhaba owner is being misled. Showing faith in the police, Wasan said, “The police will now reveal the truth in this matter.”
The Delhi Police has initiated a probe in the matter after a complaint was filed by the Baba Ka Dhaba owner. The Police are also vetting CCTV footage from the area where the shop is located to identify men who had gone to the Dhaba that day.
The ongoing dispute between Kanta Prasad and Gaurav Wasan
Earlier in October, Baba Ka Dhaba shot to fame after Swad Official’s Gaurav Wasan uploaded a video on YouTube, highlighting the struggle suffered by Kanta Prasad and his wife in running the eatery. In one segment of the video, the 80-year-old man, Kanta Prasad, was also seen weeping, claiming that his income had been less than Rs 100. Towards the end of the video, Gaurav Wasan provided the location of ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ and urged the residents of Delhi to give a visit to the eatery and help the old couple. He also exhorted people to donate money online so that more financial assistance can be extended to the couple.
However, days later, Prasad alleged that he had not received any donation that was sought under his name. YouTuber Lakshay Chaudhary uploaded a video, alleging Wasan of cheating and running online donation campaigns by uploading emotional videos. Wasan responded, refuting the allegations and stating that he had transferred all the money that he had received from the campaign to Prasad’s account.
Subsequently, Kanta Prasad had filed a complaint with Delhi Police over misappropriation of donations against Food Blogger and Youtuber Gaurav Wasan of Swad Official. The complaint was filed under sections of cheating, mischief, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of funds and other relevant sections of IPC.
In his video, the Gaurav Wasan allegedly said that the eatery owner Kanta Prasad does not have any mobile number and asked for donations in his own account instead of giving Prasad’s bank details. The videos went viral on social media platforms on 7th October, after which people started contacting Gaurav for donations. “He intentionally and deliberately shared his and his family/friends’ bank details/mobile number with them and “collected a huge amount of donations through different mode of payments”, the complaint alleges. It also says that while Prasad mentioned his account details while shooting the video, Wasan only published his and his family/friends’ account details to collect donations.
