Man booked for selling chicken biryani in Malkajgiri

Hyderabad: Rachakonda police on April 25, nabbed the owner of a food joint, for supplying chicken biryani to customers illegally during the lockdown. The police arrested Bandi Basanth Kumar, who owns Bandi Food Court at Gayatri Nagar of Malkajgiri, for running the business defying lockdown orders.

According to police, Basanth Kumar had been running the food joint with migrant workers from Bihar. While some of them had moved out due to the lockdown, he made thirteen migrant workers stay put in the kitchen and work from him every day. It was also found that

he had confined all of them to the premises, without maintaining social distancing, supplying masks and providing sanitation facilities at the place. It was also found that the place was running without the mandated hygiene for cooking food.

Inquiries also revealed that Basanth himself was taking orders over phone through calls, text messages and even through WhatsApp messages. He has also been delivering food to customers in his SUV.

Police also found that most of his deliveries were happening at Kushaiguda and surroundings. He had allegedly taken extra precautions to evade police while delivering and gave them different excuses every time they stopped. He was also delivering cakes and other ready-to-eat food items on orders. Police also found that neighbours had requested him to stop the business and follow the lockdown, but he ignored them and continued the business. Fed up with his attitude, they alerted police.

A case has been registered against him at Malkajgiri police station under sections 188 of the IPC, 51 of Disaster Management act 2005, and 3 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897 and the place was sealed. Further investigation is underway.