A customer reportedly died after a brawl between the customer and the serving personnel at a restaurant on Sunday night. The restaurant is yards away from the Panjagutta Police Station. Following the incident, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner C.V. Anand issued orders suspending sub inspector Shiva Shankar and head constable Shanker, reportedly for not taking immediate action against the accused.
According to the Police, 32-year-old second-hand vehicle dealer from Chandrayangutta Mohd Liaqat had gone to have dinner with seven of his friends on Sunday night at the restaurant at around 10.30 p.m. They had ordered two biryanis and asked for more curd (raita).
“An argument broke out between the victim and the serving personnel over the demand for more curd. The argument turned into a brawl between Liaqat and one of the serving personnel, the two got into a fist fight,” said the police after examining a CCTV footage of the incident.
The victim and his friends then walked to the Panjagutta police station to lodge a complaint at around 11 p.m. when Mr. Liaqat complained of uneasiness and was rushed to a nearby hospital by his friends. “He was pronounced dead while undergoing treatment. We suspect that the blows during their brawl had caused an internal injury, resulting in his death,” added the police.
Meanwhile, the restaurant, located in the heart of the city, remained shut and barricaded on Monday. “The place will be closed until further investigation. We were given orders to keep the people away as this is a scene of offence,” officials guarding the place shared, adding that several customers approached around noon for their lunch.
The Panjagutta police has sent the body for postmortem examination to ascertain the cause of death and a case was booked against the restaurant personnel under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. “We have detained the accused at the police station and an official arrest will be made in due time,” police said.
