A youth who sent the Mumbai's police force into a tizzy after he claimed that an autorickshaw driver, allegedly a self-proclaimed "gau rakshak," had harassed him for carrying a leather bag, has landed in a soup



In a Facebook post in August this year, Barun Kashyap had claimed that an auto driver had harassed him for carrying a leather bag

A youth who sent the city's police force into a tizzy after he claimed that an autorickshaw driver, allegedly a self-proclaimed "gau rakshak," had harassed him for carrying a leather bag, has landed in a soup. Following investigations into the incident, the Mumbai crime branch learnt that the man had concocted the entire story because he was running late for work.

In August, Barun Kashyap, 24, who hails from Assam and works as a creative director with RM Pictures in Andheri, had described his ordeal in a Facebook post, where he claimed that an auto driver, wearing a "teeka" and a "saffron coloured muffler", had stopped and harassed him for carrying a leather bag made from cow-hide. The Facebook post drew hundreds of reactions from outraged Mumbaikars.

Kashyap then approached the Amboli police, who registered an offence under various sections of the IPC against the unknown "gau rakshak". "Based on the description given by Kashyap, we questioned 49 auto drivers in the Amboli, Oshiwara and DN Nagar areas," said a police officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch.

The police had also prepared a sketch, but none of the auto drivers claimed to have seen such a driver. The vehicle plate number given by Kashyap also turned out to be that of some other vehicle and not an auto. After running around in circles, the crime branch was finally able to call Kashyap's bluff, when they checked his call records. "Kashyap had told us that the incident had taken place while he was on his way to office from Infiniti Mall," the official said.

However, Kashyap's call details showed that he was at home for the major part of the day. "When we questioned him, he confessed that he had made up the story because he needed an excuse for being late to work. He also told the police that he had done it for publicity," said the official. He has been booked under Sections 153 A (1) (for promoting enmity between different groups) and 182 (false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person). He will be arrested soon.