A Swiggy delivery worker in Bengaluru has allegedly been assaulted by a group of four men for refusing to hand food over for free, months after a similar incident with a Zomato employee caused an uproar in the city.
An Instagram post shared by a well-wisher garnered some attention, claiming that the 25-year-old Karthik Hariprasad had been beaten late in the evening of May 28 by four young men after they insisted on free food, following a failed cancellation attempt on the platform.
When the men allegedly refused to pay, the post claims that he decided to give the food to the needy instead. The four men reportedly began hurling abuses at the delivery worker and went on to physically assault him, breaking his phone and helmet, snatching money from his wallet and knocking his head with stones.
Fellow food delivery workers fortunately spotted him, contacted the police and Hariprasad was taken to Magadi Road police station and finally to a hospital where he received stitches. However, the alleged attackers had fled the scene.
“The inspector (Magadi Road Station) has been in constant touch with me. I will be going back to Bengaluru on Wednesday and register a complaint officially. Swiggy has said they will share customer details with the police too,” Hariprasad told The News Minute. The food delivery major has also asked him to encash the company’s health insurance cover and promised legal help, according to the post.
In March, a Zomato delivery worker had been arrested for assaulting a woman customer, but later went on to file a counter-complaint against the woman, alleging assault, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation. The delivery worker had claimed that the woman was enraged because her order had been delayed and attacked him with a slipper and her fists when he refused to give her the food for free.
In Hariprasad’s case, he had reportedly been saving up the money stolen from him for his sister’s wedding and contributions from the public poured in after his story went public. Hariprasad told The News Minute that he had got more than enough financial aid for repairs and expenses and wanted to donate the surplus money to a noble cause, though he was yet to decide on how exactly to go about it.