A customer alleged Thursday that they found a worm in a dish served at The Rameshwaram Cafe’s outlet at Bengaluru airport, an allegation denied by the restaurant chain, which claimed the incident was staged in an attempt to extort Rs 25 lakh from the brand.
The incident reportedly occurred Thursday morning, when a group of five to seven people created a ruckus at the cafe, accusing the staff of serving unhygienic food. The group demanded to speak with the cafe’s owner and allegedly threatened to circulate videos on social media to damage the brand’s reputation unless they were compensated.
Sumanth, the son of Lakshminarayan and the Operations Head of The Rameshwaram Cafe, said the café’s manager called him following the confrontation. The group reportedly refused to engage further unless the cafe owner responded to their demands.
Sumanth claimed the received a call shortly after from a person from an unknown number who demanded Rs 25 lakh in cash to be delivered at Brigade Road or face reputational consequences.
Sumanth alleged that the caller was unreachable when initially contacted, but called back around 10:27 am, making the extortion demand. The cafe received calls from two numbers.
The Rameshwaram Cafe’s management said it recorded phone conversations and messages as evidence, and lodged a formal complaint with the Bengaluru police commissioner, seeking strict legal action. “It is highly likely that the person himself placed the insect in the food with the intention of blackmail,” Sumanth stated in the complaint.
He added that this was not the first such incident the cafe had faced. “In the past, too, there have been attempts by miscreants to place foreign objects like insects or stones in food items in order to malign our brand.”
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In a formal statement issued later Thursday, Divya Raghavendra Rao, Co-founder and Managing Director, The Rameshwaram Cafe, said, “We are thoroughly investigating the incident. At The Rameshwaram Cafe, the safety, hygiene, and well-being of our customers are of utmost importance and form the foundation of everything we do. In the past, we have also encountered instances of deliberate attempts to compromise our food or raise false alarms to damage our brand name. Hence, we are looking into this matter with utmost urgency.”
Meanwhile, a purported video circulated online shows a customer recording a spoonful of pongal allegedly containing a worm. In the clip, the customer can be heard speaking to another individual about filing a complaint through Instagram.
A staff member is also heard asking if the customer was spoken to inappropriately. The video also shows the cafe staff offering an apology, and refunding Rs 300 to the complainant.
In May 2024, the brand came under scrutiny after Telangana’s Food Safety Department found expired and mislabelled items — including 100 kg of urad dal, 10 kg of curd, and 8 litres of milk — at its outlets in Hyderabad.
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Headquartered in Bengaluru, The Rameshwaram Cafe is known for its South Indian quick-service offerings, and has several branches across the city and other states.