Mumbai: Bandra hotel staff who served rat in chicken curry out on bail

The chicken dish the complainant was served

The Bandra police had arrested three people including the manager, waiter and cook of ‘Papa Pancho Da Dhaba' restaurant located in Bandra West after a customer allegedly found a rat in his chicken curry dish. Restaurant manager Vivian Albert Sequeira, the cook and a waiter who served the dish to the complainant, were produced in court on Wednesday and released on bail.

The restaurant at Pali Naka, Bandra West, specialises in Punjabi-style cuisine. The staff allegedly told the police that it was a "small rat" that fell into the vessel while the dish was being cooked.

According to the police, the complainant is a senior manager at a private bank and a resident of Goregaon. He had visited the restaurant for dinner on Sunday. "A friend and I decided to have dinner at Papa Pancho Da Dhaba on Sunday. We reached there around 9.30 pm and ordered one chicken plate, one mutton plate, two dal makhani, two dahi matka and four parathas for dinner. We started eating the food they served us when I noticed something suspicious in my plate which didn't appear to be a chicken piece. I checked properly and found that it was a small rat that had been cooked along with our meal," the complainant told mid-day.

According to him, they immediately summoned and informed the waiter and the restaurant's manager but neither provided any answers. "They didn't even apologise for their mistake," he added.

The duo then decided to call the police and also clicked pictures of the food they had been served to post on Twitter. "The police arrived and seized food. It's horrible to see the pictures again. We can't even imagine that this highly recommended restaurant would serve a rat in the name of chicken," the complainant told mid-day.

Sanjay Marathe, senior inspector, Bandra police, said, "We have arrested three people for allegedly serving rat meat mixed with chicken. We have registered an FIR against them under IPC Sections 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention)."

According to a police officer, the restaurant staff claim they are careful while preparing and cooking meals but suspected that the small rat fell into the meal while it was being cooked. "The restaurant staff claim that the incident was a genuine accident. We are verifying this and also checking CCTV camera footage of the restaurant," the officer said.

Aug 13
Day incident took place