Kayalvizhi, daughter of former Union Minister MK Alagiri and granddaughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, has been booked on charges of assaulting and intimidating the branch manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Chennai.
The case was registered after an SBI official lodged a complaint, news agency PTI reported. The alleged incident took place on July 20 at the NRI branch of SBI in Adyar and was captured on the branch’s CCTV cameras, police said.
A video purporting to show the incident surfaced on social media on Saturday.
Watch the video here:
HT has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.
CCTV footage shows Kayalvizi engaging in a heated argument with the branch manager inside his office. During the argument, she appears to imitate the manager’s pose before slapping him in the face. Another man present in the room was seen grabbing her arm and appearing to try to calm the situation as the exchange continued.
Disagreement over incorrect lifting
According to police, the SBI NRI branch operates from a commercial building allegedly owned by Kayalvizhi.
The police said that when they visited the property a few days ago, a dispute broke out between them and the branch manager due to a defect in the elevator in the building.
During the conversation inside the principal’s office, Kayalvizi allegedly slapped the official on the cheek, police said, adding that the incident was recorded on a CCTV camera.
She was booked on charges of assaulting and threatening a bank official. Further investigations are underway
Kannada controversy in SBI branch
Last year, a video showing an altercation between an SBI official and a customer at a branch in Karnataka went viral after the customer insisted that the official speak in Kannada. The official refused, saying she would not speak the local language, sparking widespread backlash on social media.
Following the outrage, the SBI official released a video apologizing for the incident. Speaking in Kannada with the help of her colleagues, she said: “If I have hurt anyone, I sincerely apologise. I will try to cooperate and run my business in Kannada from now on.”
The controversy also caught the attention of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who later thanked the State Bank of India for taking quick action in the matter.
(With inputs from agencies)
