Sari showroom owner held for hitting suppliers

Vijayawada: Two sari merchants from Satya Sai district, who came to Vijayawada two weeks ago to collect dues from a sari showroom, were allegedly stripped and beaten up by the showroom owner. The owner also shot the episode on his mobile and sent the clip to others to who he owes dues. After the video went viral, NTR district police arrested the two accused on Friday. City police commissioner Kanti Rana Tata said the victims are natives of Dharmavaram and supply saris to multiple showrooms across the state. They also supplied saris to the main accused, Gudavarthi Avinash Gupta, twice in 2022 towards which he owed them 2.34 lakh. Avinash gave the victims a cheque, but it bounced as the bank account was found to be closed. When the victims went to his showroom and demanded their dues, they were detained, forced to strip, and beaten black and blue with a plastic pipe.