BHUBANESWAR: Undeterred by police harassment and assault of unidentified miscreants, a city-based businessman continued to sell lunch packets for Rs 10, close to the ‘Aahar’ canteen on the premises of Capital Hospital here on Monday.
The businessman, Sanjay Kumar Das, was not only detained for more than eight hours at Capital police station on Sunday, he was also allegedly thrashed by two police officials for selling lunch packets at a throwaway price. Das could secure a release only after social activists intervened and protested his detention.
Das, who is into hotel business for the last three years, runs a canteen at Baramunda Housing Board Colony where he sells cooked food at nominal price. Das’ act did not go down well with a group of people and the police. The businessman had to face the wrath of a handful of rowdies first and the cops later, who detained him for daring to challenge the cheap meal scheme of the Government.
Despite the unsavoury experience, Das went on with his business on Monday and managed to sell around 1500 food packets at several locations in the City including the Capital Hospital premises, where he was attacked on Sunday.