When Vijay Mallya got arrested and gave everyone on Twitter a good time
Vijay Mallya was arrested and no one could believe their ears.
To confirm the veracity of the news, everyone turned to their go-to news agency — Twitter. And indeed it turned out that loan defaulter Mallya was arrested on Tuesday by the Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant by India. He, however, was later granted a bail.
His fall from grace has been spectacular. From a billionaire liquor baron to two-time Rajya Sabha MP to a fugitive living in London, life may have finally come full circle for UB Group chairman. With his arrest by Scotland Yard in London, Indian government’s efforts to extradite the "King of Good Times" seems to have finally borne fruit.
When British PM Theresa May, chose India as her first destination for an overseas trip after taking charge of office, there were some murmurs that the Indian government had forcefully insisted on the extradition of the fugitive businessman. Mallya, who fled to UK nearly a year ago, is wanted for non-repayment of loans and advances to the tune of nearly Rs 9,000 crore to various Indian banks and institutions.
In the past, he had made offers to settle the dispute with the banks, provided they take a substantial haircut. The banks had rejected that.
Once Mallya is extradited to India, he is likely to be arrested and would face a slew of charges. In January of this year, the CBI had issued a non-bailable warrant on Mallya. He still owns a substantial chunk of United Breweries, his beer company.
What followed on Twitter was a huge sigh of relief and some light-hearted banter. Here's how the micro-blogging site received the news.
Looks like #Mallya wanted to watch #IPL live ????Welcome back sir!@TheVijayMallya
— ಪ್ರವೀಣ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಎಂ (@praveenkumarblr) April 18, 2017
Smart punchlines and witty remarks started to appear.
Let's roll-out a carpet of dung, starting from the airport and all the way to #Tihar, and ensure #Mallya enjoys a darn good time behind bars
— ZeliaLH ???????????????? (@ZeliaLH) April 18, 2017
They'll need to change the Kingfisher catchline again once Vijay Mallya gets extradited. IT'S FLYING BACK! And then, IT'S GROUNDED
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) April 18, 2017
Second stanza of the same poem written today #PoeticJustice #VijayMallya pic.twitter.com/eU7yOpfTUT
— Ishant Sharma (@CrimeMasterV2) April 18, 2017
And some more jubiliation.
Reporting live from UB City on Vittal Mallya Road in Bengaluru. The mood here is we-don't-know, we-don't-care #VijayMallyArrested
— Sugata (@sugataraju) April 18, 2017
Vijay Mallya arrested in London.Mood in RCB Camp right now @LEG3NDRY ???????????? pic.twitter.com/4zWW8dN2o5
— ️ (@I_N_D_Y_E_A_H) April 18, 2017
Some even wanted to take credit for the "big catch".
Times Now is calling the Mallya arrest 'Mega Times Now Impact' wtf
— madhu (@madhu_gopalan) April 18, 2017
So should India play a series with Scotland as a good gesture????? #Mallya
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) April 18, 2017
Others simply grinned and beer-ed.
Dry day for Beer king started .#Mallya
— Nitin Pujari (@NitinPujari26) April 18, 2017
Some were alert enough to remind the "most-vulnerables".
Girls, keep those hot tubs running. Daddy's coming home. #VijayMallya #FckYouIndia
— Vijay Mallya (@Thevijaymalllya) April 18, 2017
Of course, the IPL fever was running high.
Vijay Mallya arrested. RCB to play under protest wearing black label #ScotchBrite #TheKingOfGoodCrimes #GoneeWalker
— T M Karthik (@TeaeMKay) April 18, 2017
Is #Mallya trying to come to India to give #70MinuteLecture to Team #RCB ? #MallyaArrested #IPL
— Ravi Pratap Singh (@rpsingh_nitdgp) April 18, 2017
But all excitement fizzled out as soon as the 'man of the moment' tweeted himself. What!
Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) April 18, 2017
But some still tried to make the most of the moment.
@TheVijayMallya Ghar aja Pardesi Tera Desh pukare re
— Doctoर्???? बक्चोद् (@DoctorrSays) April 18, 2017
@TheVijayMallya Beer thandi nahi mil rahi aajkal
— Gautam (@gautamverma23) April 18, 2017