Argument over food ‘intentionally’ shown as language row: Bengaluru police reject video claim

The incident comes a month after a fake video, showing an attack on Bihar migrants in Tamil Nadu, triggered a furore and led to many migrants fleeing Chennai.

In the Bengaluru video, the man, who identifies himself as a resident of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, is purportedly heard hurling abuses and using vulgar language to explain how Hindi-speaking population is being “treated badly” in Bengaluru. A police officer said the man, Nitesh Kumar Yadav, works at an eatery in Bengaluru north.

“Prima facie, it appears that there was an argument between the man and the customers in the eatery (where he worked). An inquiry has begun into the matter. Since the youth has returned to his hometown, we are collecting more details from him and action will be initiated,” Bengaluru city Police Commissioner C H Pratap Reddy told reporters on Thursday.

As per the preliminary investigation by Subramanyanagar police officers, the argument was not about language but over “bad food”. Some people on social media claimed that the girls in the video were abusing the man, which he overheard.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a police officer said the incident took place on April 7. “This was never actually a language row. There was a communication gap between the ladies and Yadav. We learnt that the ladies had visited the hotel and had ordered a rice item. However, they did not like the food and they paid the man with a torn Rs 100 note. A war of words ensued after he did not accept the money. In the heated argument, the Bihar man did not understand Kannada and the ladies did not understand Hindi,” the police officer said.

The officer said Yadav “intentionally” turned it into a language issue. “The owner of the hotel was also not present at the time of the incident. We learnt that Yadav has gone back to his home state. No one has filed any complaint so far,” he said.

Yadav is believed to have come to Bengaluru just a month ago. He uploaded the video on Facebook from Bihar, the police said.

“I request citizens to dial 112 whenever there is a grievance. Our personnel will reach you within 30 minutes,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Pratap Reddy said.