A 32-year-old man from Tripura has been arrested by the Bommanahalli police in Bengaluru for allegedly making offensive remarks against Kannadigas and the state of Karnataka. The accused, identified as Mithun Sarkar, was reportedly intoxicated during a phone conversation with a delivery executive, during which he made derogatory statements.
Sarkar, who has been residing in Bommanahalli, South Bengaluru, for the past ten years, works at a local massage therapy center. The incident took place on Thursday morning after he ordered a T-shirt from an e-commerce platform. Due to inaccurate address details, the delivery executive was unable to locate Sarkar’s residence and made multiple calls to clarify the location.
According to police officials, Sarkar lost his temper over the repeated calls and verbally abused the delivery agent. The executive, sensing the abusive tone, recorded the call in which Sarkar allegedly insulted the Kannadiga community, mocked the local food culture — particularly ‘ragi mudde’, and made disparaging remarks about the state’s economy.
“He allegedly claimed that if non-Kannadigas left Karnataka, locals wouldn’t even have money to buy tomatoes,” said a police officer involved in the case.
The recorded audio clip was shared with members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), a pro-Kannada organization, which promptly demanded Sarkar’s arrest.
Following the complaint, the Bommanahalli police registered an FIR against Sarkar under Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups on grounds of language, place of birth, etc.) and Section 352 (intentional insult intended to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Sarah Fathiema, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast Division), confirmed that Sarkar was taken into custody on Friday. Further investigations are underway.