‘Baba ka dhaba’ owner lands in hospital after overdose, family says he was ‘under pressure’

Kanta Prasad, the owner of Baba ka Dhaba, a nondescript roadside eatery in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, was admitted to Safdarjung hospital on Thursday after overdosing on alcohol and sleeping pills, even as the police tried to ascertain if the incident was an accident, or if the 81-year-old tried to take his life

Kanta Prasad, the owner of Baba ka Dhaba, a nondescript roadside eatery in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, was admitted to Safdarjung hospital on Thursday after overdosing on alcohol and sleeping pills, even as the police tried to ascertain if the incident was an accident, or if the 81-year-old tried to take his life.

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Prasad’s family members said the octogenarian was depressed and “under pressure”.

Officials at Safdarjung hospital said Prasad was stable but critical, and was put on a ventilator.

The police said his family found Prasad unconscious at the dhaba, and took him to a nearby private hospital, which referred him to Safdarjung hospital.

Prasad and his dhaba shot to fame overnight in October last year after a city YouTuber, Gaurav Wasan, shared a video showing Prasad in tears, telling him how he struggled to make ends meet as business dried up. The viral video led to thousands of people making a beeline to the couple’s eatery for food, selfies and donating money.

He later opened a new restaurant, which was shut in February due to a shortage of business.

The octogenarian also filed a cheating case against Wasan after accusing him of allegedly siphoning off donations, a charge that the YouTuber refuted. Last week, the two posed for photographs at his dhaba and claimed they were on good terms.

Prasad’s son Karan, however, alleged that his father was depressed because some people, including a few YouTubers, were “pressuring him to withdraw the cheating case and reach a compromise with Wasan.”

“My father was being constantly asked to withdraw the case and patch up with Wasan. It was the main reason behind my father’s depression. He was not telling us anything about it, but we could see he was under pressure,” said Karan, without specifying whom he was speaking about.

When contacted, Wasan refused to comment.

“Doctors asked us to take my father to a bigger hospital as his condition was serious. We brought him to Safdarjung hospital. My father consumed alcohol and an overdose of sleeping pills in an attempt to kill himself,” added Karan.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said the facility informed the police of Prasad’s hospitalisation around 11.15pm on Thursday. The police then collected the MLC (medico-legal case), which pinned his unconsciousness on the intake of alcohol and sleeping pills as the cause of unconsciousness, he said.

“Karan’s statement was recorded,” added DCP Thakur.

Speaking to reporters, Prasad’s wife, Badaami Devi, said. “I am clueless about what happened to him. I was at the dhaba. He fainted and we took him to the hospital around 4 pm (on Thursday). No one has told us anything about his condition,” she said.

An official from Safdarjung hospital, who asked not to be named, said, “He is on ventilator after an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. He is critical but stable.”