'You won't have Rs 10 for tomatoes': Massage therapist’s hate rant against Karnataka and Kannada sparks outrage, lands him in jail

A 37-year-old massage therapist from Tripura was arrested on Thursday in Bengaluru after he allegedly abused Kannadigas and the state of Karnataka during a phone call with a delivery executive. The incident took place around 9:30 am, according to a report by The Times of India (TOI).

The arrested man has been identified as Mithun Sarkar, a resident of Begur Main Road in Hongasandra, originally from Tripura. Sarkar has reportedly been working in Bengaluru as a massage therapist at a salon and spa for the past nine years and also provides home services.

Ranjith, 29, a delivery executive and resident of Begur, told TOI that he had called Sarkar to confirm the exact delivery address for a parcel. Sarkar, who had ordered a T-shirt from an e-commerce platform, allegedly responded in Hindi and began verbally abusing Ranjith for speaking in Kannada.


“As soon as I introduced myself, he started insulting me and made abusive remarks about Kannadigas and Karnataka,” Ranjith told TOI. He claimed Sarkar said, “If 70% of Hindi people leave Karnataka, you will not have Rs 10 to buy tomatoes.” Sarkar also allegedly mocked Kannada cuisine and culture, calling it “natak” (drama) and questioned its status.

Ranjith added that he tried to de-escalate the situation by switching to Hindi, but Sarkar continued his tirade. "He even asked me to record the call and track his tower location," he said.

Offended by the remarks, Ranjith shared the audio of the conversation with members of a pro-Kannada organisation, who then helped him file a police complaint. The complaint stated that Sarkar’s comments had “hurt the sentiments of Kannadigas” and were aimed at creating hatred between linguistic communities.

Following this, an FIR was registered under sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of language, place of birth, etc.) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as per a senior police officer quoted by TOI.

During interrogation, police found that Sarkar is fluent in Kannada but had chosen to speak in Hindi. He reportedly told police that he was upset with his employer for not paying his salary and took out his frustration on the delivery executive. He also admitted to being drunk at the time of the call.

Sarkar was arrested and is expected to be produced before a magistrate later in the day.

Inputs from TOI