‘Chala gaya Suhail Sameer’: Ashneer Grover takes jibe at BharatPe’s former CEO with a poem

Fintech unicorn BharatPe’s ousted co-founder and TV personality Ashneer Grover has lashed out at the company, its founder Shashvat Nakrani and former CEO Suhail Sameer with a poem. While he called Sameer incompetent, he asked Nakrani to handle the business.  

Grover tweeted, “Poem for the start of 2023: ‘Chala gaya Suhail Sameer- he was a nalla! Shashvat- why don’t you man up and sambhalo the galla?!’ For my English-speaking friends: 1) Nalla (Nalayak) is incompetent/incapable and 2) Galla is business/helm of affairs.” His tweet has garnered over 294,000 views, 4,700 likes, and 233 retweets at the time of writing this story. 

Suhail Sameer stepped down as the CEO of BharatPe on January 3. Sameer will transition from managing the day-to-day operations of the company to being the Strategic Advisor.  

BharatPe said, “BharatPe today announced that Suhail Sameer will transition from Chief Executive Officer to Strategic Advisor effective January 7, 2023. This will ensure a smooth transition for current CFO, Nalin Negi, who has been appointed interim CEO to partner with senior executives to bolster execution in all phases of the company’s business.”  

Ashneer Grover became a household name due to his one-liners and no-nonsense approach on the first season of the entrepreneurship-based reality show Shark Tank India. Besides this, he was also spotted in the second season of TVF Pitchers. Grover also launched his maiden book Doglapan in 2022.  

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Meanwhile, Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, and other family members are embroiled in a legal spat with BharatPe. BharatPe has taken three legal actions against Grover, his wife, and other family members– a civil suit in the Delhi High Court, a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), and an arbitration to take away Ashneer Grover’s restricted shareholding and his co-founder title over alleged irregularities.  
 
The 2,800-page Delhi High Court lawsuit states the Grovers created false bills, enlisted fictitious vendors for providing services to the company, and overcharged the company for recruitment. The unicorn has sought more than Rs 88 crore in damages from Grover, his wife, and his brother.

These damages comprise a claim for payment against invoices of non-existent vendors worth Rs 71.7 crore, a claim for penalty paid to GST authorities worth Rs 1.66 crore, payments to vendors allegedly in recruitment services worth Rs 7.6 crore, and Rs 5 crore damages for loss of reputation to the company because of tweets and comments by Grover and his family members. 

Also read: Suhail Sameer to step down as BharatPe’s CEO; CFO Nalin Negi to be appointed as interim CEO

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