Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
After the video of an elderly couple running a dhaba in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, struggling to make ends meet, went viral, heartwarming support poured in from across India.
As Delhiites visited the dhaba to support the couple, many came bearing gifts and donations.
Sadly, now the story of ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’ has taken an ugly turn. The story which showed us the power of social media is now reduced to a war between YouTubers, allegations concerning donation money and a police complaint against the YouTuber who shot and shared the viral video.
Food blogger Gaurav Wasan has been accused of embezzling the money donated in the name of aid for ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’ and not transferring the entire amount to Kanta Prasad’s (owner of the dhaba) bank account.
The donations were made in cash, deposits into accounts and to numbers shared by Wasan. In addition to this, donations were also made directly into Prasad’s account, details of which were shared by social media influencer Madhur – also known as ‘the placard guy’.
It all started when Madhur met Prasad on 24 October and enquired about the donations. Prasad did not know of any donations, apart from the ones he had received in cash, as his account was seized after 7 October – when the video went viral and donations poured into his account in large numbers.
“I asked Wasan about the donations made into his account and he kept quoting different numbers. He said over Rs 1 lakh had been received on the first night itself and after 18 days, total donations were Rs 2.1 lakh. How is this possible?”Madhur, @theplacardguy
Madhur, along with other YouTubers, published videos on 26 October, accusing Wasan of duping the dhaba owner and the people who donated the money.
The next day, Wasan gave Prasad a cheque of 2 lakh 33 thousand and 677 rupees, and posted a video with the octogenarian, establishing that the full amount has been transferred.
More questions were raised when, a week ago, Wasan posted another video sharing his bank details and other transactions he made to Prasad’s account, to clear his name of the accusations.
However, this was not enough as Prasad filed a complaint against Wasan on 1 November, accusing him of misappropriation of funds by sharing only his and his family’s details with the donors and not providing details of the financial transactions.
Wasan, in a live video with chef Ranveer Brar, said that Prasad has received Rs 20-25 lakh in his bank account, which also raised many eyebrows.
Clearing his stand further, Wasan said he found out about this amount when he went with Prasad to deposit the donations received in cash.
The police is now investigating the matter, and looking into transactions in Prasad’s and Wasan’s bank accounts.
In a conversation with actor Mallika Dua on Instagram, Gaurav Wasan did not give Kanta Prasad’s bank account number when she asked.
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