Two days after the iconic Karachi Bakery in Indiranagar in East Bengaluru was in the spotlight after a group of "patriots" came and threatened to take out the name "Karachi," the Hyderabad based Karachi Bakery clarified on Saturday that it was "absolutely Indian."
In a tweet @KarachiBakery, it said "We would like to clarify that Karachi Bakery was founded by Shri. Khanchand Ramnani, who migrated to India during the partition. The brand was established in 1953 and is an Indian company based out of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The popularity and love for its products has contributed to its growth throughout India and abroad. The essence of Karachi Bakery is absolutely Indian by heart and will remain so. We request everybody to refrain from any kind of misconceptions."
Sections of the media reported even other outlets of Karachi Bakery in Bengaluru have also received threatening calls since February 17 from groups demanding that the firm should change its name or shut down the business, employees said. Employees at the company’s Mahadevapura outlet said that they had complained to the police about the calls.
Nine people have been arrested by the Indiranagar police who have been booked for unlawful assembly, and criminal breach of trust. Among the nine, seven of them claimed that they were all social workers and were "patriots" locally, the police quoted them as saying.
Meanwhile, the East division police also claim that they have been receiving calls stating the arrested men have affiliations with Right-wing outfits.
Around 20 men, on Friday, had barged into the bakery and questioned as to why the bakery had such a name and also demanded to know who the owner was. However, they did not resort to damage property. The bakery staff had called the police after which they covered the word “Karachi” from the signage and even put a national flag in front of the bakery. The Indiranagar police have put up picketing near the outlet and other sensitive areas in the East division to avert such instances.