A complaint against a Bengaluru-based beauty blogger Hitesha Chandranee has been filed for accused a Zomato delivery executive of punching her nose after a heated argument over delayed order. The delivery executive named Kamaraj has filed a complaint alleging abuse and assault.
An FIR has been registered at Electronic city police station against Hitesha under sections 341, 355, 504, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Six days ago, Hitesha has shared a video on social media. She accused Kamaraj of punching her over an argument at her apartment in Bengaluru. The incident allegedly took place when the delivery executive arrived at the beauty blogger's residence with the food she had ordered.
Hitesha, in her viral video, said, "I ordered food from Zomato as I was working since morning. I ordered food around 3:30 pm, which was supposed to get delivered by 4:30 pm, and I did not get the order on time, so I was constantly following up with the Zomato customer care that either give me free delivery for the same or just cancel the order…"
She further added, "And then the Zomato delivery guy came here. He was so rude… I didn’t open the full door, I spoke to him from a gap in the door and told him am talking to the customer care… I told him I don’t want the order since it was very late. But he refused to take the order and started screaming, ‘bloody I am your slave or what’… It felt so threatening, I got scared and I tried to push the door. But he was so huge, he pushed back the door, snatched the order back from me and punched me. Then he ran away…"
Soon after Hitesha's video went viral, Zomato's founder Deepinder Goyal released an official statement. The statement read, "Kamraj has made 5,000 deliveries for us so far, and has a 4.75/5 star rating on our platform (which is one of the highest) and has been working with us for 26 months now (these are facts, not opinions or inferences)."
The statement further read, "We are in constant touch with Hitesha covering her medical expenses and helping her with the proceedings. We are also in touch with Kamraj, extending all possible support to make sure both sides of the story come to light and that due process is followed in the spirit of fairness."
I want to chime in about the incident that happened in Bengaluru a few days ago. @zomato pic.twitter.com/8mM9prpMsx
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 12, 2021
Kamaraj, issuing a statement to The News Minute, shared, "After I reached her apartment door, I handed her the food and I was expecting her to pay me (as she had opted for cash on delivery). I also apologised since the delivery was delayed due to traffic and bad roads. But she was very rude from the outset. She asked me ‘Why are you late?’ I replied apologetically, as there were road blocks due to ongoing civic works and there were traffic jams as well. But she kept on insisting that the order has to be delivered within 45-50 minutes. I am working on this job for more than two years and this is the first time that I have had to go through this kind of an ordeal."
He further claimed that Hitesha took the food and refused to pay. When she was talking to Zomato chat support regarding the late delivery, he feared losing payment for the order and requested her to pay. "At this point, she called me a ‘slave’ and then she started shouting ‘What can you do?’ In the meantime, Zomato support told me that they have cancelled the order from their end based on her request and I asked her to return the food but she did not cooperate," Kamaraj stated.
When Kamaraj was walking towards the lift, Hitesha reportedly threw slippers on him and abused too. "For my safety, when she was hitting me, I tried to use my hand to shield her blows. At this point, when she was trying to push my hand away, she accidentally hit herself with her finger ring on the nose, which led to the bleeding. Anybody who sees her face, will understand that this wouldn’t be created by a punch. And I don’t wear any rings," he added.
(Source: News18)