Members of the ruling extremist BJP vandalised a Karachi Bakery outlet in Hyderabad, demanding the owners to rename the establishment, according to Telangana police, following tensions between Pakistan and India.
Indian Express reported that the police mentioned that the vandalism took place at 3pm on Saturday. The Karachi Bakery branch located in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad was the target of the protests.
K Balaraju, inspector, RGI Airport Police Station, told The Indian Express: “No employees at the bakery were harmed. No serious damage was done.”
“We were on the spot within a few minutes of the incident and could disperse the members of the political outfit.”
It is important to note that this is not the first time that Karachi Bakery has seen protests.
Protesters were seen planting tricolour flags at the Banjara Hills Branch of the bakery at the height of the conflict last week.
The bakery is run by an Indian family, descendants of those who migrated to Hyderabad during the Partition, however, it gets its name from Karachi in Pakistan.
At Mozamjahi Market in Hyderabad, the bakery was founded in 1953.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a manager of the bakery said: “We are an Indian establishment. We cannot be branded Pakistani.”
Additionally, Karachi Bakery has branches in several cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
The bakery has 24 branches in Hyderabad alone. The most famous of its bakes are the fruit and Osmania biscuits.
Earlier, the bakery owners, Rajesh and Harish Ramnani, had issued a statement requesting Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to offer them protection.
During the Pulwama attack too, in 2019, the bakery was vandalised, police say.
After the Saturday’s attack, RGI Airport Police booked the protesters under sections 126 (2) and 324 (4) of BNS – wrongful restraint and causing damage to property.
“The board of the bakery was damaged by the protesters,” Balaraju said. No arrests have been made.
