JAIPUR: A dispute over an alleged cockroach in food at a Udaipur restaurant escalated into an assault row after an Ahmedabad tourist was allegedly beaten by the operator and staff, with a video of the incident going viral.The restaurant owner, however, has denied assaulting the man and claimed the tourist was intoxicated and creating a disturbance.The incident took place on Saturday at Meera Restaurant near Delhi Gate Chowk in the Dhanmandi police station area, police said.The tourist, identified as Jayesh Patel, 35, sustained injuries to his face and head and was taken to Maharana Bhupal Hospital for treatment, according to police.
‘He was in an intoxicated state’: Restaurant owner
Restaurant operator Manoj denied assaulting Patel and said the tourist was drunk and had been disturbing other customers.In a clarification, Manoj said, “The video that has been going viral since yesterday, in which the tourist is saying that he was beaten up, but the tourist was not beaten up by us, he was in an intoxicated state, he was sitting on the table, something happened to him.”He said the tourist had complained about a cockroach in the food, but claimed the object was actually a large cardamom.“He said that there is cockroach in the food, but it was not a cockroach, it was a big cardamom, we were telling him, we were clarifying him, he was in such an intoxicated state, he was disturbing all the customers, he was creating a ruckus,” Manoj said.The owner said staff tried to calm the tourist and asked him to wait while they clarified the matter, but he allegedly refused to listen.“We were telling him to sit for a while, we will clarify everything, he was not ready to listen to anything, he was in a state of intoxication,” he said
Dispute started over alleged cockroach in food
According to Dhanmandi SHO Gajveer Singh, Patel had gone to the restaurant with family members when they allegedly found a cockroach in their food.Police said restaurant staff claimed the insect was a large cardamom and offered to wash it in the kitchen and show it to the family.Patel allegedly objected, saying that taking the item inside could destroy evidence of the alleged cockroach. An argument followed, police said.The dispute later escalated, with Patel allegedly being attacked by the restaurant operator, leaving him injured, according to police.
Video shows policeman at spot
A video of the incident circulating on social media shows a policeman present at the spot but allegedly failing to intervene and stop the altercation.Police said both sides have registered cross-FIRs in connection with the incident.The investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and the circumstances leading to the altercation.(With agency inputs)
