Actor Harshika, husband Bhuvan lodge complaint over attack outside restaurant

BENGALURU: Two days after posting on her Instagram and X handles about a case of assault at Karama restaurant’s parking lot on Mosque Road in Pulakeshinagar, which occurred on April 2, actors Harshika Poonacha and her husband Bhuvan Ponnanna lodged a complaint at the City police commissioner’s office against unidentified men. She also explained about the incident to the police chief.

Harshika later spoke to the media and said that they had relatives over at home on Friday when the police called. “The Assistant Commissioner of Police has been in touch since Friday. I only posted about the incident on social media. Was there anything wrong in complaining? We are not linked to any political party. Our well-wishers told us to lodge a complaint. The ACP Geeta was supposed to meet us today, but she said that she was on duty at a protest site. So, I came to complain at the commissioner’s office”.

The actor further said, “Many such incidents have taken place in Bengaluru. We are all one in Karnataka, and we should be able to hang out in any area without fear. On that day, we were returning from Karama Hotel after dinner with family members when two people stopped us from taking our car out of the parking area. The two men warned us to be careful while taking the vehicle as it is a big car. I told them not to talk about the future, and Bhuvan said he would take the car out with care. One of them in the gang suddenly said in their language that Kannada people should be taught a lesson. Then, about 20 people were suddenly gathered around us. At that moment, I called the RR Nagar police inspector and those who had gathered quickly dispersed from the spot when the officer spoke in a raised voice”.

After lodging a complaint at the police commissioner’s office, actor Bhuvan said, “We had come to meet the Commissioner. In his absence, we met the Additional Commissioner of the Eastern Division. They said an FIR has been filed and they have promised to take action against the attackers. We just thought that if we lodged a complaint, it would take a different turn as it the election season. At that moment, there was a Hoysala patrol vehicle near the hotel. We talked with them too, but we were not in a position to lodge a complaint that day. Many people contacted us and suggested that it would be a mistake if we didn’t file a complaint. So we urge the police to take legal action”, he said.