Row over biryani taste ends in stabbing, 2 juveniles held

New Delhi: Two plates of chicken biryani, a complaint that the food was too salty and a quarrel over payment allegedly culminated in a stabbing at a hotel in northeast Delhi’s Welcome area, with police apprehending two juveniles for attacking a 25-year-old worker, an officer said on Monday.

The incident took place at a hotel in Kabutar Market, where the two customers, aged 14 and 15, allegedly picked up a quarrel with the hotel staff after finishing two plates of chicken biryani and objecting to its taste, police said.

According to an officer privy to the investigation, the two first ordered and ate two plates of chicken biryani completely. When the hotel worker, Ehasan, asked them to pay for the meal, they allegedly started arguing, claiming that the biryani had no taste and was too salty.

“The accused first ordered two plates of chicken biryani. They finished the biryani, and when the worker asked them to pay for the food, they picked a quarrel, saying the food had no taste and was oversalty,” the officer said.

The officer said Ehasan initially tried to handle the situation and pacify the two customers, but they kept arguing with him. The confrontation soon turned violent when one of the juveniles allegedly took out a vegetable-cutting knife and stabbed the worker before both fled from the spot. Ehasan was taken to JPC Hospital by his neighbour after the incident. Police received information from the hospital at around 9.07 pm, following which a team rushed to the spot and hospital. Ehasan was later referred to RML Hospital for further treatment. A forensic team also inspected the crime scene and collected evidence as part of the investigation.