‘Are we living in Pakistan?’: Actor Harshika Poonacha, husband attacked for ‘speaking in Kannada’, FIR filed

The assault on April 2 went viral two weeks later when Poonacha, who recorded the video of the incident on phone, shared it on X on April 19.

According to Ponnanna, a stranger at the parking lot of Karama restaurant in Pulikeshi Nagar picked up an altercation with him at 7.40 pm on April 2 while he along with his wife and two other family members were in the car. “A man came from nowhere and said, ‘Dekh ke jao’ (watch your way). In Kannada, I asked him to move aside, and the person shouted, “Yeh Kannada ke log bahut zyada baat karten hain (these Kannada people talk a lot)”. I then asked whether he had a problem if he spoke Kannada,” he said in the complaint.

Soon a gang of about 20-30 people, who spoke in Hindu, Urdu and broken Kannada, joined the stranger, Ponnanna said.

Harshika Poonacha said she tried to call a police officer from Rajarajeshwari Nagar when the gang allegedly held Bhuvan by the collar, assaulted his face and tried to snatch his gold chain and mobile phone and then vanished.

The couple alleged that though they went up to a patrolling vehicle parked near a mosque and narrated the incident to the assistant sub-inspector, the officer asked them to go to the nearest police station and lodge a complaint.

“He did not even come to the crime spot to check what had happened,” Ponnanna told Dayananda.

Harshika Poonacha mentioned that the faces of miscreants could be clearly seen in the video. “Are we living in Pakistan or Afghanistan? If I speak Kannada in Karnataka and what is the problem with them? Is it so unsafe for us to travel in our city?” she asked.

Pulakeshi Nagar police have registered a case under sections 427 (mischief that causes damage to the amount of Rs 50 or more), 341 (wrongful restraint),504 (intentionally insults or provokes another person with the intent to cause them to break the public peace or commit another offense),143 (unlawful assembly),149 (unlawful assembly with common intent),393 (attempt to robbery) and 323 (voluntarily causes hurt to another person).

Asked why they delayed in filing the police complaint, Poonacha said that Ponnanna initially ignored the incident. “But our well-wishers suggested that we file a complaint. We do not have any political agenda, but are concerned about the safety of the common public,” she added.

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