Bhubaneswar: A waiter of a restaurant in Ghatikia area here was assaulted by a customer on Saturday night over a delay in serving fish curry and roti.
The injured waiter, Satya Rajan Das (40), lodged a complaint with Bharatpur police station, demanding immediate arrest of his attacker. According to Das, the unidentified customer, along with some of his friends, reached the restaurant for dinner around 9.30 pm. They ordered four vegetarian meals and a fish meal.
The customer became agitated over a brief delay. The waiter explained that there was high demand during that time. However, the man refused to listen and started shouting at the staffer. Without warning, he grabbed the waiter’s collar and punched him repeatedly. Other diners intervened to stop the assault. When the restaurant manager called the police, the accused fled.
The waiter suffered injuries to his nose and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. “We have handed over the CCTV footage of the incident to the police. We request the police to arrest the attacker at the earliest,” hotel owner, Soumya Prakash Nayak, said. Police said they were trying to trace the accused.
Several incidents of scuffles over small issues in eateries have come to light in the city recently. On Oct 30, 2024, a cook, Pitambar Jena from Sorada in Ganjam district, was killed in a dispute with a colleague over fish curry at Damana Square. On Sept 11, 2024, police arrested four persons for assaulting a group of friends over a seating dispute at a restaurant in Patia area.