~ Anubhooti Shaw
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
INTRODUCTION
Social media is the most convenient place to assassinate the character of anyone. This assassination can be achieved by anyone whether he or she has actually committed any offence. The court of media declares any judgment without placing the facts into the right place. According to natural justice, the accused should be innocent until proven guilty but this system won't matter because literates nowadays criticize & complain more rather than try to dig the truth out.
The heated series of misunderstandings and malpractice has definitely spread the talk of the country to a whole new level. The scuffle between the Zomato delivery boy, Kamaraj and Hitesha Chandranee.
FACTS
The day that the alleged incident took place on March 9, 2021, HiteshaChandranee, a 31-year-old Doddathogur resident, posted her photos and videotape accusing a 28-year old Zomato executive punching her in the nose. In her video, she claimed food came nearly an hour late and attacked her when she spoke on the telephone for a refund.
Hitesha Chandranee is a living makeup artist and model from Karnataka. Through her Instagram page, she gives advice about make-up and brand endorsements.
She has alleged that the Zomato delivery boy, "barged" into her home and "attacked her", resulting in a fracture to her nasal bone, when she was trying to talk to the Customer Service on her phone.
The other side of the coin needs to be always considered when there is any conflict initiated. Therefore, this is Kamaraj's version of the facts in his words.
"I requested her not to complain since it will be trouble for me. She then very rudely in English told me to wait. I asked not to speak in that language since I am a delivery boy and not a slave," Kamaraj stated.
"She then got angry and said 'so what if you are a slave, what will you do, wait there.' Then she said she will now not give the food back, will not pay either and the food order is free. I said it is a COD order and I have handed the food item to you so please pay up. There was traffic, roads were dug up and blocked so please pay the amount," he added.
"She picked a slipper and hit me and also threw a slipper at me. I kept saying this is wrong, please do not do this," the delivery boy stated adding that "when she was hitting me, I defended myself by pushing her hands away. She had a ring on her finger and this hit her nose. You can see the ring in the video she has posted on social media."
LEGAL INTRICACIES
The next day, Kamaraj was arrested by police, but later released him on station bail. Kamaraj was charged under Sections 325 (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A week after Chandranee's complaint on March 10, 2021, Kamaraj filed a FIR with the help of some activists in Bengaluru. Chandranee has been booked under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 355 (assault), 504 (insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Bengaluru's Electronic City Police Station based on Kamaraj's complaint.
After the complaint of Kamaraj was registered, the next day Hitesha fled to her aunt's house in Maharashtra. This fact was discovered by the Police when they called and asked to appear in the police station for her statement.
On the other hand, it has duly been monitored that Zomato has not only supported its employee but also assured the customer for relief. By replying to Hitesha's tweet, Zomate said, “We can assure you this is not the experience our delivery universe stands for. Our local representative shall be in touch with you shortly to help you with the police investigation along with assistance on the medical care required. We can’t emphasise how sorry we are, rest assured we’ll take necessary actions to prevent such incidents from happening in future.”
Meanwhile, Zomato, in a statement, said the company was in touch with Hitesha and the accused. "We are in constant touch with Kamaraj, extending all possible support to make sure both sides of the story come to light and that due process is followed in the spirit of fairness," the statement said, adding "Right from the get-go, our topmost priority has been to get to the truth".
Although Kamaraj has been temporarily suspended from active deliveries, the company is covering his earnings and also his legal expenses. "Also for the record, Kamaraj 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" also added in the statement.
CONCLUSION
With all the exchange of comments and reasonings, we should not forget that both Kamaraj and Hitesha are human beings who deserve anything but the justice for what the facts are. Whether Hitesha is a victim or the culprit, her character should not be assassinated on the public platform. Neither does she deserve such hatred nor negativity. A woman can easily be targeted. Whereas, if Kamaraj is having his truth with him all the way, then the law will ensure that Chandranee deserves her part of the deed.
It is very much advisable that until and unless the verdict is presented by the law, the hatred offered to any of the party is utterly unreasonable. Thus, we should wait and let the concerned people do their jobs rather than commenting and creating unnecessary chaos in every social media. And as Kamaraj said, "let the truth win."
REFERENCES
● Indian Penal Code, 1860.
● https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.opindia.com/2021/03/zomato-founder-deepinder-goyal-statement-fight-instagram-hitesha-chandranee-kamaraj-delivery-agent/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwjyg7XG-rjvAhWD7HMBHaCQBoUQFjAOegQICxAC&usg=AOvVaw31RwAdHQ2vcW3FLRYiU2j4
● https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/mar/12/alleged-assault-on-model-social-media-stands-with-zomato-delivery-boy-2275860.amp&ved=2ahUKEwjyg7XG-rjvAhWD7HMBHaCQBoUQFjARegQIBhAC&usg=AOvVaw2FI6Z5x83YmXWN3Xn0bhgY&cf=1
● https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/bengaluru-police-registers-fir-hitesha-chandranee-counter-complaint-zomato-delivery-executive-kamaraj&ved=2ahUKEwjyg7XG-rjvAhWD7HMBHaCQBoUQFjAQegQICBAC&usg=AOvVaw1_BY4TQe1bh0l5Eearkuek
● https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://theprint.in/india/let-truth-win-says-zomato-delivery-man-denying-assault-on-bengaluru-woman/621456/%3famp&ved=2ahukewiy05di-rjvahug63mbhqs2cwo4chawmaz6bagbeai&usg=aovvaw3-xyibhy-okuuogaqduyo