Bengaluru: A Kannada film actress Harshika Poonacha on Friday said that shared a distressing incident where she and her family was allegedly attacked by a group of people in Bengaluru's Frazer Town for using local language Kannada while speaking. Poonacha alleged that members of the group even allegedly tried to snatch a gold chain from her husband Bhuvann Ponnannaa. 

Sharing a video of the incident on social media, the actress questioned how  safe residents are in the southern state. 

Harshika Poonacha, along with her family, had gone out for a casual dinner at a restaurant on Mosque road in Frazer town's Pulikeshi Nagar a couple of days ago. 

In her post, she alleged that two men suddenly appeared near their car's driver seat window and started arguing that the vehicle is very big and that it could touch them if it moved suddenly.

Getting frustrated, the gang started destroying  their vehicle and also tried to physically abuse them, she said.

“Also these guys had a problem that we were talking in Kannada. They were like your coming to our area and stop talking in languages you want. “Yeh local kannad wala hey” (these guys are local Kannada people). It agitated them more when my hubby and me spoke only in Kannada. They said keep your ”Kannada style" to yourself. Most of them spoke either Hindi , Urdu and a few in broken Kannada," She added.

Poonacha then contacted an inspector she was acquainted with, after which the gang “disappeared into thin air in a matter of seconds”. Her attempt to get help from an ASI from the nearby police station was in vain as “he did not seem keen to help”, she wrote.

“He said we should talk to higher ups in the department and did not even have the courtesy to come and find out what happened. He wanted to drink the moosambi juice that he was drinking in front of a restaurant just two buildings ahead,” Her post read.

Poonacha said the incident has scared her from going out in the city she grew up in and asked “Are we living in PAKISTAN or AFGANISTAN?? Is it wrong to use my language Kannada and get abused for it in my own city??? How really safe are we in our own city?”

The actress urged CM Siddaramaiah and the Karnataka State Police Department to intervene in the matter and take require action. 
Several internet users expressed shock over the incident, with one writing, “@BlrCityPolice Even Celebrities Are Not Safe. Kindly Look Into This.”