Zomato case: Have not left Bengaluru; wouldn't risk life, career to orchestrate anything, says Chandranee

Hitesh Chandranee, the Bengaluru woman who accused a Zomato delivery boy of punching her on the face, has said she has not left Bengaluru and that her words have been twisted to turn the narrative against her. Chandranee, who is being accused of framing the Zomato delivery boy now, released a statement on Instagram, saying she was worried about her safety. Chandranee said posts by certain celebrities holding her responsible have also hurt her.

"The posts made by certain celebrities which accuse me of being responsible for the incident have hurt me immensely as these are the people I look up to. The comments of such people have an impact," she said.

Defending her earlier statement of accusing the delivery boy of hitting her, Chandranee said she wouldn't risk her life and career by making false accusations. "I would not risk my life, reputation, respect and peace of mind by orchestrating anything as attributed to me. I appeal to all netizens not to express any opinion till the trial is completed by the appropriate legal forum," she wrote.

The women said Bengaluru is home to her and that she was worried over her safety for the past few days. "I live by myself in Bengaluru and the past few days have been very difficult for me and I am worried about my safety. A neutral probe by the investigative agencies will bring out the truth and I look forward to it," she wrote.

The women said she lives alone in the city and that she was hounded on social media by people tweeting against her, including celebrities. Notably, actor Parineeti Chopra had earlier appealed to Zomato to find the truth and "penalise the women" if the delivery boy is innocent. "Zomato India - PLEASE find and publicly report the truth...If the gentleman is innocent (and I believe he is), PLEASE help us penalise the woman in question. This is inhuman, shameful and heartbreaking...Please let me know how I can help...#ZomatoDeliveryGuy (sic)," Parineeti Chopra tweeted on March 14.

Earlier, it was reported that Chandranee reportedly left Bengaluru as cops contacted Chandranee for questioning following Kamaraj's counter-complaint. The investigating officer said she had left the city and is at her aunt's house in Maharashtra. The police said they have given her time to make her statement once she returns, and added, "If she fails to come before police, we will arrest her".

Hitesha has been charged with wrongful restraint, assault, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation based on a complaint by the Zomato delivery man Kamaraj. According to the officer, Kamaraj said Hitesha had hit him with slippers, accused him of defaming her and hurling abuses at him on March 9.