5 held for fight over curd that led to one death; Meridian hotel owner booked

Hyderabad: After a customer was beaten to death for asking for extra curd while eating biryani at Meridian restaurant in Hyderabad, the Panjagutta police registered a case against five persons and others, which includes the hotel staff and the owner. The hotel staff have been taken into custody.

The issue started with a heated argument. The victim Mohd Liyaqat and his friends got into a fight with the hotel staff over extra curd. Liyaqat and his friends were taken to the police station where he’s said to have collapsed. He was declared dead after he was taken to a hospital. On this issue, a complaint has been registered by the victim’s friend Saleem Khan.

The five hotel staff members arrested by the police include Krishna Surya Prakash, Malavath Pandu, Alamdar, Abdul Nazeez and Moin. A case has been also registered against restaurant owner Mohd Yousuf Qureshi.

#Hyderabad: A customer was allegedly beaten to death by the staff and owner of Meridian restaurant, Punjagutta after he demanded extra curd for biryani.
On Sunday, Liyaqat visited the restaurant for dinner.

There was a quarrel between the staff and the customer when he asked to… pic.twitter.com/ibiFkgUl1r

— @Coreena Enet Suares (@CoreenaSuares2) September 11, 2023

What happened on September 10?

According to the complainant, on September 10, at around 10:30 pm, the victim along with nine of his friends went to the Meridian Hotel in Panjagutta for dinner. They ordered two mutton biryani and told the hotel staff to get extra curd. The waiter replied in a rude manner telling them to wait and also abused them.

Infuriated by the waiter’s actions, Liyaqat got up and confronted him. Immediately, two other waiters joined in and started quarrelling with Liyaqat and his friends, physically beating them.

Soon, two more from the hotel joined in and started abusing and beating the victim and his friends. One of the staff members of the hotel telephoned their owner Mohd Yousuf Qureshi. But nothing was done to stop the quarrel.

The police came and intervened. They took four persons from the friends’ group to the police station: Mohd Omer, Mohd Naser, Mohd Mustafa, and Mohd Liyaqat.

At the station, Liyaqat developed uneasiness and was shifted to the Deccan Hospital where he was declared dead. A case has been registered.

Further, Punjagutta Inspector of police, suspended Sub Inspector Shiva Sankar and Head Constable Ramesh over allegations of negligence in handling the case.

Input from Psychiatrist

In connection with the Meridian Restaurant incident, when asked what makes people so rude, violent, aggressive & murderous over petty issues, senior psychiatrist and founder-director of Manasthali, Dr Jyoti Kapoor said, "In recent times, we have witnessed a concerning rise in rudeness, violence, and short-tempered behaviour in society and we must understand some of the underlying factors contributing to this trend.

The pressures of modern life, exacerbated by the rapid proliferation of digital technologies, have led to heightened stress levels and decreased opportunities for meaningful human connection. Many individuals are grappling with the strain of juggling work, personal life, and the constant barrage of information and social comparison on social media. Additionally, the ongoing global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainties, and social unrest, have further fueled anxiety and frustration."

"To address these issues, it's crucial to prioritize mental health awareness, emotional regulation, and coping strategies as essential tools in managing these challenging times and fostering a more compassionate and empathetic society," she added.

According to neuropsychiatrist at KIMS Dr Charan Teja, there can be a number of underlying factors behind the aggressive behaviour of the staff. “Usually, the backgrounds of the people working as waiters are not very congenial for healthy development and many of them display Cluster B personality traits, which includes antisocial personality disorder. Most of them often come from broken families, alcoholic families and a volatile environment. There might be some genetic problem related to the amygdala (centre for emotional processing in the brain), which makes them aggressive,” explained the doctor.

“Besides their biological make-up or psychological traits, there can be other contributing factors, which should also be looked into. These are possibility of drug abuse, sleep disturbances, social media usage, online movies and shows online, where display of violence is a norm and murders and brutal attacks are normalized. Another important factor contributing to aggressive behaviour can be a red-meat dependant diet that considerably raises the testosterone level,” averred Dr Charan Teja and added that a proper post-mortem and investigation can shed more light into the nature of injuries or causes that led to the man’s death and what actually transpired at the restaurant that night.