BENGALURU: A 30-year-old man who threw currency notes from a flyover in KR Market on Tuesday and briefly disrupted the movement of traffic in Bengaluru’s prominent wholesale market for commodities has been booked for being a public nuisance, police said.
Police said the man, identified as Arun, appeared to be trying to establish himself as an event manager and was looking for publicity when he released video clips including the one where he is seen throwing a wad of currency notes from the flyover.
“During the inquiry, we found that he did it for promotion and publicity as he is an anchor and an event manager. He, along with his friend Satish, arrived this morning at the flyover and threw the money. He chose the location since it was a crowded place. The videos were also shared by him on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Bengaluru West, Laxman Nimbargi.
Later Arun insisted that he had his reasons but said he will elaborate on them later. “I apologise for causing the traffic jam but my intentions for right. Give me some time… I will explain why I did that,” he said.
In one widely-circulated video clip, Arun is seen throwing about 3-4 bundles of ₹10 notes. In another, people were seen running to the middle of the road in an attempt to pick up the currency notes and disrupting traffic.
After the videos of the incident emerged, the city market police took suo motu cognizance and booked Arun, 30, under sections 283 (danger or obstruction in a public way or line of navigation) and 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 92 (D) (punishment of certain street offences and nuisance) of the Karnataka Police Act.
The first two provisions are punishable with a fine of ₹200. The third section can lead to a maximum of ₹100 fine.
Arun apologised to people for the inconvenience caused due to his action but insisted that he will explain his reasons later. “I apologise for causing the traffic jam but my intentions for right. Give me some time… I will explain why I did that,” he said.
