BENGALURU: Kempegowda, a 27-year-old farmer from Tumakuru, has got his hand on a brand new Bolero Pick-up 1.7 truck. He had become an internet sensation last week after he barged into a Mahindra showroom with cash in hand asking the staff to deliver him the vehicle on the spot.
What made netizens root for him was the fact that he had been humiliated just a few hours earlier by the showroom staff, who had allegedly told him that he would not be able to afford a vehicle that cost nearly Rs 10 lakh.
Kempegowda's derring-do of January 21 had reached up to Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra. Kempegowda was not aware of it, but he is happy that "the showroom people behaved well with me after the incident. They also helped me get a Rs 7.40 lakh loan from Mahindra Finance to buy the jeep. I have made a down payment of Rs 1.99 lakh and will repay the loan amount in 48 EMIs of Rs 19,000 per month".
Kempegowda, who also works as driver for additional income, owned a luggage carrier auto and wanted an upgrade, and that was when the incident occurred.
'Will use vehicle to transport farm produce'
But Kempegowda does not want the attention anymore. "As I drive the vehicle on my own, people recognise me and it is quite embarrassing. I will make use of the vehicle to transport produce from my farm and also lend it to others on hire." Asked about the cash he raised within a few hours, he said that he had taken it from his friends and returned it all.
"In fact, the day I went to the showroom, I had Rs 2 lakh in my account, but showroom people insulted me," he said. Gowda used to grow flowers and later switched to arecanut as he has a borewell dug.
On Friday, Mahindra Automotive, in its official Twitter handle apologising to Kempegowda, said, "We regret the inconvenience caused to Mr Kempegowda and his friends during their visit to our dealership on 21st Jan. As promised, we have taken appropriate measures and the matter is now resolved."
Responding to this, Anand Mahindra tweeted, "and let me add my welcome to Mr Kempegowda."