Baba ka Dhaba row: Case of cheating filed against YouTube ‘influencer’
The eatery, Baba ka Dhaba, run by Prasad, shot to fame last month after Wasan highlighted how Prasad could run out of business because his customers were staying away due to the coronavirus disease.
Delhi Police on Friday registered a case of cheating against YouTube “influencer”, Gaurav Wasan, after conducting a preliminary enquiry into a complaint of alleged misappropriation of funds filed by an elderly man who runs a roadside eatery, Baba ka Dhaba, in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar.
The eatery, Baba ka Dhaba, run by Prasad, shot to fame last month after Wasan highlighted how Prasad could run out of business because his customers were staying away due to the coronavirus disease.
A first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code against Wasan at the Malviya Nagar police station. The police’s initial probe and examination of the transactions of Wasan and his family members revealed that he had cheated the elderly man, Kanta Prasad, of more than R4 lakh, a senior police officer privy to the development in the case said, requesting anonymity.
“We have registered a cheating case against Wasan. He will soon be served a notice, asking him to join the probe,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur.
Wasan did not respond to calls and text messages seeking his response. Prasad could not be reached for his comment, as calls made to him went unanswered.
An 11-minute YouTube video blog, posted on October 7, detailed how Prasad and his wife, Badami Devi, both apparently in their eighties, were in dire straits outside their tiny eatery in Malviya Nagar.
On October 31, DCP Thakur said, Prasad filed a complaint regarding cheating and fraud against Wasan. He alleged that Wasan had approached him and shot a video with him to help/promote his business (Baba ka Dhaba). Wasan posted the video on social media through his account namely “Swad Official” and requested the public to donate money to financially help Prasad, said Thakur.
“The said video went viral and as per the complainant, the alleged Gaurav Wasan deliberately shared only his and his family members’ bank details and mobile number for donation. Wasan collected a huge amount through donation and later cheated the complainant (Prasad),” said the DCP.
Wasan’s video on his YouTube page was widely circulated, leading to 3 million views and drawing thousands of Delhi residents, and some celebrities, to Prasad’s shop to buy food and take selfies. A month later, the crowds outside Baba Ka Dhaba have vanished.
The allegations of misappropriation of funds were first made by a bunch of other users on YouTube, who made videos to allege that Wasan conned the elderly couple.
