New Delhi:
It was the heartbreaking story of the year – a poor elderly couple struggling with their food kiosk in the coronavirus lockdown, discovered by a blogger whose post prompted thousands to donate or to visit the Delhi store. There is now a dark twist in the magical story of “Baba Ka Dhaba”.
The “Baba”, Kanta Prasad, filed a complaint with the police against the man who put his food stall on the map. Food blogger Gaurav Wasan swindled him, claims the 80-year-old, wearing sunglasses in addition to his usual orange work shirt.
“He called for donations on behalf of his wife, brother and himself. He handed us a check for only Rs 2,33,677. I deposited the check; I don’t know if the money will be They tell me I got 20 lakh but where is the money, “Kanta Prasad told GalacticGaming.
Gaurav Wasan has been seen at the store many times since his viral post made it an overnight sensation. This morning, he was ready with his bank statements to dispute the allegations of “Baba”.
He said that when he went to the bank on October 8, the day after his mail, to deposit money received on behalf of Kanta Prasad, he was told that the account was sealed because Rs 20 lakh had already been deposited there. “That’s why when I got out of the bank, I launched a public appeal asking people to stop donating to Baba Ka Dhaba because she had received sufficient financial aid,” Wasan told GalacticGaming.
Kanta Prasad, 80, had risen to fame after a video of him tearfully recounting the desperation for months since the lockdown widely shared on social media platforms recently.
“I still promote street food in India. I made a viral video that gave them a lot of help. Everyone said you help them so much. Now the same people call me a scam. . I have all the account details here, I was forced to stoop to that level, ”he said, pointing to a stack of statements.
Mr. Wasan stated that he gave Kanta Prasad Rs 3.78 lakh of Rs 4.44 lakh which came to his account from contributors; some of it was his own money, he added.
In the post in early October that changed everything to “Baba Ka Dhaba”, Kanta Prasad cried about getting next to nothing for the food he and his wife cooked each day and sold around Rs 30-50 per plate.
The image of the old man wiping away his tears has attracted thousands of retweets and countless offers of help. Over the next few days, visuals morphed into long lines outside his store, and the media reported on his dramatic change in fortunes after 30 years in business.
