'Abused, Worried And Haven't Fled Town': Bengaluru Woman Who Accused Zomato Man of Assault
According to the New Indian Express report, the police said that they called Hitesha to appear before the investigating officer for questioning, but she said she had left the city and is at her aunt's house in Maharashtra.
Hitesha Chandranee, the woman who had accused a Zomato delivery executive in Bengaluru of punching her but was booked later allegedly for framing him, has released a statement on her Instagram page, saying she is worried about her safety and that she hasn't left Bengaluru.
Contrary to many reports that said she left the city, she said, "Bengaluru is home for me," in a recent Instagram post.
Her statement on Instagram
"I live by myself in Bengaluru and the past few days have been very difficult for me and I am worried about my safety. A neutral probe by the investigative agencies will bring out the truth and I look forward to it," she wrote on Instagram.
She also alleged that her words were further twisted while she only wanted to share the incident that took place. In the statement released by Chandranee on Instagram, she said posts made by "certain celebrities" who accused her of being responsible for the incident have "hurt" her.
"The posts made by certain celebrities accusing me of being responsible for the incident have hurt me immensely as these are the people I look up to," Chandranee said in the Instagram post.
Chandranee also said that she "would not risk" her "life, reputation, respect and peace of mind by orchestrating anything". She also urged everyone to "not express any opinion till the trial is completed by the appropriate legal forum".
Reports cited cops' claims
This comes a day after reports suggested that she had left Bengaluru, which allegedly came to light after cops contacted Chandranee for questioning following Kamaraj's counter-complaint. Police had claimed that she fled after her address was leaked online. This after the Zomato delivery person filed an FIR against Hiteshaa alleging abuse and assault.
Instagram
According to the New Indian Express report, the police had said that they called Hitesha to appear before the investigating officer for questioning, but she said she had left the city and is at her aunt's house in Maharashtra. The police said that they had given her time to make her statement once she returns, and added, "If she fails to come before police, we will arrest her".
Series of events so far
A make-up artist, social media influencer by profession, Hiteshaa Chandranee accused a Zomato delivery person of assaulting her and punching her after she tried to ask him why her order was delayed. The incident happened six days ago and the woman¡¯s viral videos with a bloody nose went viral. Hitesha filed an FIR against the Zomato delivery person for assault and her videos caused massive outrage.
Kamaraj, however, denied the woman¡¯s story and said she was the one who assaulted him with slippers due to the delay in delivering the food. While Kamaraj was holding his hands up in defence, he claimed the woman hurt herself with her ring. This week, Kamaraj filed a counter FIR against Hitesha for assaulting and abusing him.
BCCL
Following the FIR, The News Minute reported that Hitesha¡¯s address was leaked online. Due to safety concerns, the woman has reportedly left Bengaluru. According to the police, Hitesha fled because she was scared. Since K Kamraj¡¯s accusations against Hitesha, many have criticised her for using her privilege to frame the delivery person.
Zomato backs Kamaraj
The incident has led to divided opinions and heated debate on social media about who was the real victim. After the initial shock, however, public opinion seemed to sway in Kamrahj¡¯s favour after he claimed he was innocent.
Zomato also backed their employee while ordering a strict probe into the incident. The company¡¯s founder Deepinder Goyal also released an official statement on the matter. ¡°Kamraj has made 5,000 deliveries for us so far, and has a 4.75/5 star rating on our platform (which is one of the highest) and has been working with us for 26 months now (these are facts, not opinions or inferences),¡± the statement read.
Senior Writer at Indiatimes. She writes on Lifestyle, fashion, beauty, astrology and health.