A popcorn seller was roughed up by a mob in Bengaluru’s Lalbagh, on the allegation that he spit into oil before making the popcorn. Nawaz Pasha has been selling popcorn in Lalbagh for close to ten years. He was getting ready for work on Saturday, June 11, when a group of people passing by saw him biting an oil packet to open it, and prepare the popcorn. Alleging that he spit into the oil, the mob started creating a ruckus and tried attacking him.
Incidentally, a police inspector was walking in the park at the time, chanced upon the mob trying to lynch Nawaz. Upon seeing the police, the mob wanted him to get Nawaz arrested, police sources said. However, they refused to file an official complaint in the regard. The inspector then called for backup to avoid any untoward incident and took Nawaz to the police station.
A video of the incident shows a police officer detaining Nawaz as a man is seen asking him why he was spitting. Nawaz denies this and asserts that he did not do so. The oil bottle with Nawaz was also seized by the police.
The police were told that Nawaz spit into the oil a few times. However, Nawaz clarified that he was just biting the cover of the packet, and said that the mob was unrelenting, the police added.
Nawaz was later taken to the Siddapura police station and a suo moto case was registered against him. Based on the crowd’s allegations, he has been booked under sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale) and 273 (sale of noxious food or drink) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and later released on bail, the Times of India reported. Further investigation is underway to ascertain what exactly took place.