Food delivery boy refutes assault claims, says influencer attacked him

Bengaluru - He alleges she accidentally injured herself with her ring while assaulting him.

By Web Report

Published: Fri 12 Mar 2021, 12:02 PM

In a turn of events, a Zomato delivery boy who was accused of assaulting and injuring a customer in Bengaluru has claimed that it was the woman who verbally abused him, hit him with a slipper, and then accidentally injured herself with her ring while assaulting him.

According to The News Minute, Kamaraj said that the customer, Hitesha Chandranee, had assaulted him as he was leaving her apartment and walking towards the lift.

“She started using expletives in Hindi. She suddenly threw slippers at me and started hitting me. For my safety, when she was hitting me, I tried to use my hand to shield her blows,” he said.

“At this point, when she was trying to push my hand away, she accidentally hit herself with her ring on the nose, which led to the bleeding. Anybody who sees her face will understand that this wouldn't be created by a punch. And I don’t wear rings,” he said.

Hitesha in her Instagram video is seen wearing a ring.

Kamaraj said the altercation had happened after traffic and bad roads caused him to be late to deliver her food. He alleged that Chandranee, a makeup artist and beauty influencer, took the food and then refused to pay for the order.

When he asked her to pay for it, Kamaraj said Chandranee “called me a ‘slave’ and then she started shouting ‘What can you do?’”

“In the meantime, Zomato support told me that they had cancelled the order from their end based on her request and I asked her to return the food but she did not cooperate,” he added.

According to him, he had narrated his experience to Zomato support staff in Delhi, who offered him support and empathy. However, he was arrested by the police and questioned for two hours.

“The problem is there is no CCTV footage to prove my innocence,” he said.

“The police did not disrespect me in any way. But now I have to spend Rs 25,000 for legal expenses to prevent my arrest.”

Hitesha had alleged on Thursday that she had been punched in the face by a Zomato delivery person. She tagged the city police, who got in touch with her and asked her to provide the details.

An Instagram video posted by Hitesha on Tuesday offered details of the incident. In the clip, she can be seen with a bleeding nose.