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Baba ka Dhaba owner hospitalised, cops unsure on whether it was a suicide bid
Kanta Prasad was found unconscious at his dhaba by his family members, who rushed him to a nearby hospital that referred him to Safdarjung Hospital, as his condition was serious. He is presently on ventilator support and his blood pressure as well as oxygen level is low.
Kanta Prasad, 81, the owner of Baba ka Dhaba, a nondescript roadside eatery in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, was admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday after he consumed alcohol and anti-anxiety pills. According to the police, it is unclear if Prasad accidentally overdosed on the pills with alcohol or whether he tried to take his life. Prasad’s family said the octogenarian was in “depression” and “under pressure” because of some people and the recent turmoil in his life.
Prasad was found unconscious at his dhaba by his family members, who rushed him to a nearby private hospital that referred him to Safdarjung Hospital, as his condition was serious. He is presently on ventilator support and his blood pressure as well as oxygen level is low, said Prasad’s son Karan.
The story of Prasad, his wife Badami Devi and their dhaba had turned viral on social media in October last year after a city You Tuber, Gaurav Wasan, shared a video showing the octogenarian Prasad in tears, telling him how he struggled to make ends meet as business had dried up amid the pandemic. The viral video led to thousands of people making a beeline for the couple’s eatery for food, selfies and donating money. Prasad opened a new restaurant using the donation money in December. However, his new business venture failed within three months because after the initial frenzy, footfall at his new restaurant started dipping slowly and Prasad found that expenses outweighed his income.
The octogenarian had also filed a case of cheating against Wasan after accusing him of allegedly siphoning off some donation money, a charge that Wasan refuted.
Last week, the two had also posed for photographs at his dhaba and claimed that they were on good terms.
Prasad’s son Karan alleged that his father was suffering from depression because some people, including a few You Tubers, had been “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 that he was under pressure,” said Karan, without taking names of the people who were harassing his father.
Wasan refused to comment when he was contacted over the phone for his reaction to Karan’s allegation. “I don’t want to say anything,” said Wasan.
According to Karan, his father had consumed alcohol with someone in the afternoon and later went to the toilet in a municipal office located adjacent to the dhaba. In the evening, Prasad fainted at the dhaba and was taken to a nearby hospital.
“Doctors asked us to take my father to a bigger hospital as his condition was serious. We took him to Safdarjung Hospital. My father consumed alcohol and an overdose of Alprax tablets in an attempt to kill himself,” added Karan.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said that on Thursday around 11.15 pm, information was received from the Safdarjung Hospital that Prasad was admitted there. Police reached the hospital and collected the MLC (medico-legal case), which states the intake of alcohol and sleeping pills as the cause of unconsciousness, he said.
“The statement of Prasad’s son Karan was recorded. He said his father consumed alcohol with sleeping pills. Further inquiry is underway,” added DCP Thakur.
Speaking to the media, 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.”
If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialists. Helplines: Fortis Stress Helpline: 8376804102, Sumaitri: 01123389090, Snehi: 01165978181, Sanjeevani: 01124311918/01124318883).
