FIR filed against Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe after customer alleges worm-in-food, false case by outlet

 

A Bengaluru flyer’s quiet breakfast stop at the Rameshwaram Cafe outlet inside Kempegowda International Airport has spiralled into a police case, with the eatery’s owners now booked after he alleged he was served contaminated food, and later falsely accused of extortion. What began as a routine pre-flight meal quickly set off a chain of complaints, counter-complaints and a formal FIR.

The owners and a senior representative of Bengaluru’s popular Rameshwaram Cafe have been booked after a flyer alleged that the eatery served him contaminated food at Kempegowda International Airport and later filed a false extortion case against him.

According to the FIR, complainant Nikhil N was travelling from Bengaluru to Guwahati on July 24 when he stopped at the cafe’s Terminal 1 outlet around 7.42 am. He and his friends ordered Ven Pongal and filter coffee when he allegedly found a super worm in his food.

He alerted the staff, who offered a replacement, but he declined as he needed to board his flight. Several customers recorded the incident on their phones, the complaint states.

Nikhil said he left the cafe “without creating any commotion” and boarded his flight around 8.45 am.

However, the next day, he learnt through media reports that a representative of Rameshwaram Cafe, identified as Sumanth BL, had filed a complaint accusing him of demanding Rs 25 lakh and threatening the cafe’s brand reputation.

Nikhil denied making any financial demand, refund request or threat. He claimed he was inside the aircraft at 10.27 am, the time cited in the cafe’s complaint, and produced his boarding pass and travel records as proof. He also maintained that he has never been in contact with the phone numbers mentioned in the cafe’s complaint.

Police later clarified that they found no evidence of extortion or blackmail by Nikhil or his friends during their inquiry into the cafe’s complaint.

Following this, Nikhil lodged a counter-complaint seeking a probe into the alleged food safety violation and the “false extortion case.” He requested CCTV footage from 7:30–8:00 am, flight travel records, call details linked to the numbers named in the cafe’s complaint, and action against the owners.

Based on his complaint, the BIAL police station registered an FIR on November 29 against cafe owners Raghavendra Rao, Divya Raghavendra Rao, and senior executive Sumanth Lakshminarayan.

The FIR cites offences under Section 61 (criminal conspiracy), Section 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), Section 217 (providing false information to mislead a public servant), Sections 228 and 229 (fabricating and giving false evidence), and Sections 274 and 275 (adulteration and sale of noxious food) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Nikhil has alleged that serving contaminated food endangered his life and that the subsequent counter-complaint damaged his personal honour and reputation. The investigation is underway.