Actress Harshika Poonacha alleges she was attacked in Bengaluru for speaking in Kannada, asks 'Are we living in PAKISTAN or AFGANISTAN??'

Kannada actress Harshika Poonacha took to social media to share videos and photos of the alleged assailants who she says also tried to steal things like her husband's gold watch during the incident.

Kannada actress Harshika Poonacha has alleged that she was attacked by a mob in Bengaluru, Karnataka, for speaking her native language, Kannada. The actress also posted a video of the mob allegedly attacking her and her husband. She has also said that a policeman near the incident area was not ready to take action. She has sought help from the state chief minister and Karnataka police in the matter.

She also shared a clip of the video she had shot and claimed that the men even tried to rob her husband by snatching his gold chain. She has alleged that she was with her family for dinner when the incident happened.
Seeking help from the higher authorities, she asked if she was ‘living in Pakistan or Afghanistan.’

The actor shared the video on her Facebook account and wrote, “How safe are we locals in Namma Bengaluru???? Dear all, after a lot of thought, I decided to share a horrifying experience I had in Namma Bengaluru a couple of days ago. I was having a casual dinner with family on a late evening in a restaurant on Mosque Road, Pulikeshi Nagar, near Frazer town, a couple of days ago. "After completing dinner, we received our vehicle from valet parking when two men suddenly appeared near the driver's seat window and started arguing.”

Harshika Poonacha said that her husband stayed calm, but the mob was getting violent. She had mentioned that the men 'started damaging their vehicles too and physically abused them.’

“My husband realised this on time, quickly held on to it, and gave it to me. They started damaging the vehicle and trying to physically abuse it. Also, these guys had a problem because we were talking in Kannada. They were like, 'Come to our area and stop talking in the languages you want.' It agitated them more when my husband and I spoke only in Kannada. Most of them spoke either Hindi, Urdu, or a few in broken Kannada (sic),” the actor further said.

Harshika Poonacha made a long post and further mentioned that when she made an emergency call to the police station, ASI was not ready to help them at all.

“When I made an emergency call to the inspector I knew from my area, they all dispersed in a fraction of a second, like nothing had happened. We found a police patrol vehicle nearby and narrated the incident to Mr. Umesh, the ASI from the nearby police station, who did not seem keen to help us. He said we should talk to higher-ups in the department and did not even have the courtesy to come and find out what happened. He wanted to drink the moosambi juice that he was drinking in front of a restaurant just two buildings ahead. I've been in absolute shock after this incident, and it still scares me to go out in the city that I was born in, which has given me everything in life. This is the first such experience I've ever had in my city,” she said.

She concluded, “A couple of questions popped up in my mind while I witnessed this unfold in front of my eyes. 1. Are we living in PAKISTAN or AFGANISTAN?? 2. Is it wrong to use my language, Kannada, and get abused for it in my own city??? 3. How safe are we in our own city? 4. Being born and brought up here in Namma Bengaluru, should we turn a blind eye to such incidents that lead to such long-term mental trauma? I hereby humbly request the honourable Chief Minister of the state and the Karnataka state police department to look into the matter and take appropriate action so that such incidents do not become a common occurrence in our city, which we love so much.”