`Is It Pakistan Or Afghanistan?`: Actor Harshika After Mob Attack For Speaking `Kannada` In Bengaluru

Harshika Poonacha and her husband were allegedly harassed for speaking in their native language; she posted the videos and photos of the incident on her Instagram

New Delhi: Kannada actor Harshika Poonacha and her husband were allegedly harassed for speaking in their native language by a group of assailants who also tried to rob them. The actor further shared her ‘horrifying’ story on Instagram; she posted the videos and photos of the incident and wrote, “How safe are we locals in our Bangalore? Are we living in Pakistan or Afghanistan?”  

She added that on April 2, she had gone to the Karama Restaurant, which is close to Fraser Town in Bangalore, with her husband and family. She claimed that when they exited the restaurant, some men attacked them.  

“A couple of days ago, I went to have dinner with my family at a restaurant called Karama on Masjid Road in Pulikeshi Nagar, near Fraser Town. "After completing dinner, we received our vehicle from parking, and when we were about to move, two men suddenly appeared near the driver's seat window and started arguing that the vehicle is very big and if moved suddenly, it could touch them," Poonacha wrote on Instagram.  

According to the actor, despite her husband asking them to leave as those two men were talking about the possibility of a future event, men started abusing in their language and said, 'These local Kannadigas should be taught a lesson.' Poonacha claimed in the Instagram post that her husband was very patient throughout.  

The actor then alleges that 20–30 other men from the same gang gathered around and among those men, two tried to rob the couple.  

“Two of them grabbed my husband’s gold chain and snatched it so hard that it came off, after which they tried pulling it towards them in a very skilled manner... My husband realised it on time, quickly held on to it, and gave it to me,” the actor said.  

She further accused that when they realised that they had failed in their attempt to loot us, they started damaging their car. “Trying to physically abuse us by saying made-up things like we scolded them, that did not even make sense to us or anybody around. My husband did not react because there were women and family in our vehicle,” Poonacha claimed.  

She mentioned making a phone call to an inspector she was acquainted with in the area and recounted how the men quickly dispersed as if nothing had occurred. "We attempted to locate them, but they vanished within moments," she explained. 

The actor also asserted that they received no assistance from the local police.