Days after Sandalwood actor Darshan was caught again amidst a controversy, the row over him allegedly assaulting a waiter in Mysuru has seen many twists and turns. It started with film director Indrajit Lankesh alleging that the Kannada actor and his friends attacked a waiter of a hotel in Mysuru leaving him with serious eye injuries. The incident, according to Indrajit, took place four months back. Lankesh filed an appeal letter with Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday July 14, requesting for an investigation into this matter.
As per the complaint, Indrajit Lankesh claimed that the assaulted waiter was given Rs 50,000 as a settlement to avoid escalation of the issue. He alleged that the CCTV footage of the hotel was deleted to clear evidence of the incident. “About four months back, Darshan and his friends Rakesh and Harsha Melanta, hit a Dalit supplier in Sandesh Prince hotel following a major fight. I have proof based on which I’ve requested the Home Minster to take action,” he said while addressing the media. Additionally, Lankesh said that the police also ignored the incident when it took place.
Later, addressing a press meet, Indrajit said, "I cannot be a mute spectator to what celebrities are doing. The common man is suffering.”
Darshan then responded that this incident has been falsely narrated to frame him. In a media address, Darshan responded to the allegation and said that it is true that a small fight did take place in the hotel but it is being exaggerated with other hidden motives. “I might have raised my voice at the waiter to ask why the order is being delayed. Indrajit has brought up such a matter, but there’s no proof. Let’s see what he does and what finally comes out of the investigation,” he said. He hinted that these false claims are linked to the ongoing fraud case. “Unseen hands are at work here,” he mentioned.
In a subsequent twist, the hotel owner denied the incident. Sandesh, son of Sandesh Nagaraj, the managing director of the hotel said that Darshan did lose his temper at the waiter, but did not hit him. "It is true Darshan was hosting a poolside party before the lockdown at our hotel. He did not assault our waiter but shouted at him for the delay in service. I pacified both parties, and asked Darshan to retire to his room as he was high. I apologised to the waiter for Darshan's behaviour,” Sandesh said, according to The Week.
However, soon an audio went viral in which Sandesh could be purportedly heard telling Indrajit on the phone that Darshan and friends created a ruckus. "I myself had gone to the hotel and scolded the gang for assaulting the waiter,” Sandesh said, according to Hans India.
Meanwhile, media channels reported that the waiter named Gangadhar who appeared before a team led by ACP Shashidhar on July 16, Friday, denied that he was assaulted.
This incident accusing Darshan and his friends comes days after the actor called for a probe into a Rs 25 crore fraud case concerning him. He had filed a complaint that his documents had been forged to obtain a loan. A woman and two men have been booked for cheating and extortion, following an ongoing investigation.