Days after Baba ka Dhaba owner Kanta Prasad apologised to YouTuber Gaurav Wasan for alleging that the latter swindled off his money, it has now come to light that he did not withdraw the police complaint against the Youtuber. The case was filed 8 months ago by Prasad with the Delhi police.
As per an Indian Express report, the police investigation has revealed that Gaurav Wasan and his wife had received a donation of ₹4.5 lacs in their bank accounts for Prasad, but they had not given the money to him. The duo had transferred the money only after Baba ka Dhaba owner had filed the police complaint. Citing sources, Indian Express reported that a charge sheet will be filed against the Youtuber in the upcoming days.
An officer informed, “Police found that the couple received Rs 4.5 lakh, but they gave the money after Prasad lodged an FIR against Wasan. Police had already questioned Wasan and recorded his statement.” Kanta Prasad had conveyed to the investigating officers to not take the complaint back, despite claiming in a video that he had never accused Gaurav Vasan of being a ‘thief.’
The allegations of misappropriation of funds against YouTuber Gaurav
On 7th October 2020, a video was shot by YouTube channel Swad official’s Gaurav Wasan featuring Kanta Prasad and his wife. The duo was seen weeping over financial difficulties. The couple ran an eatery in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, and was facing a hard time due to lockdown. The video was shared widely by netizens and celebrities who urged everyone to help the couple. The small eatery was also extensively covered by mainstream media and donations poured in from all corners.
On 26th October, Youtuber Lakshay Choudhary came forward and alleged that Gaurav Wasan of Swad Official, who initially made the video of the elderly couple, has not yet paid them the donation money he collected on their behalf. Choudhary also alleged that several influencers gave their own account details instead of providing Kanta Prasad’s account details that led to a massive ‘scam’.
Wasan then posted a video presenting a cheque worth ₹2.33 lakh to Kanta Prasad. However, some netizens alleged that he had said in a video interview to another YouTuber that he had received over 20 lakh rupees for the cause. Netizens had demanded that Wasan should share images of his bank statement for at least a week from 7th October to show how much money he has collected. He later claimed to have transferred ₹3.78 lakhs to the eatery owner.
Kanta Prasad then filed a case, alleging that he has received a cheque of ₹2.33 lakhs from Wasan and has no idea about the remaining amount. The YouTuber accused the Baba ka Dhaba owner of defamation and said that he had given two cheques to Kanta Prasad, one of Rs 1 lakh and another one of Rs 2.33 lakhs. Besides, an amount of Rs 45,000 was transferred to Prasad via PayTM.
Turn of fortune for Baba Ka Dhaba owner
Following the controversy, Baba ka Dhaba owner started his own restaurant in Malviya Nagar, Delhi, where he served Indian and Chinese cuisines. However, he closed that venture and returned to his roadside stall as he was losing money in it. As per Indian Express, the cost of running the restaurant was around ₹1 lac a month while the revenue per month was only ₹30,000. Numerous media outlets reported that Kanta Prasad had lost all his money on the endeavour and was back to square one.
However, when OpIndia got in touch with Kanta Prasad, he confirmed that he still has a significant sum of money raised by the public intact with him. He claims that he was able to get over his over financial woes due to the help and support he received from the people of Delhi. He shut his restaurant only to return to his roadside eatery.
In a recent video, Prasad had tendered his apology to the Youtuber. He said, “Gaurav Wasan was not a thief. We never called him a thief. I made a mistake by saying ‘I didn’t call him (Wasan) but he approached us himself,’ I’d like to apologise.” Later, Wasan reconciled with the Baba Ka Dhaba owner and shared an image together with the caption, “All’s well that ends well.”
Kanta Prasad allegedly attempted suicide and is currently admitted to the ICU at Safdarjung Hospital. He was found overdosed with sleeping tablets, but is now reported to be safe and undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
