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In a heartbreaking turn of events, a 10-year-old girl tragically lost her life after consuming a birthday cake ordered online from a restaurant in Patiala, prompting online food delivery giant Zomato to take swift action.
Zomato announced on Sunday that it had removed the restaurant from its platform and barred its owner following the tragic incident. The company expressed profound sadness and assured its full cooperation with law enforcement agencies investigating the matter.
“As soon as we learned about the incident, which is now under police investigation, we immediately delisted the restaurant from the Zomato platform. We have also debarred the restaurant owner from operating any entity on Zomato,” a company spokesperson informed IANS.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media, with netizens expressing shock and demanding accountability from Zomato and other food delivery platforms.
A case has been registered by the police under Sections 273 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) following a complaint filed by the girl’s family members. They alleged that the girl died after consuming the birthday cake, and other family members also fell ill after eating it.
Concerns regarding the authenticity and safety of the food establishment have arisen as investigations progress. According to the bill copy of the cake, there is no registered shop named ‘Cake Kanha’ at the address provided in Patiala. Moreover, a receipt invoice from Zomato indicates billing from Amritsar, raising suspicions about the bakery’s operations and location.
Authorities suspect that the bakery might be a cloud kitchen, a virtual kitchen without a physical storefront, raising questions about the regulation of such establishments by food-delivery apps like Zomato.
The incident has reignited the debate over the oversight and regulation of cloud kitchens and underscores the importance of stringent measures to ensure food safety and consumer protection in the burgeoning online food delivery industry.
Zomato’s decisive action in response to the tragedy highlights the company’s commitment to prioritizing customer safety and underscores the urgent need for comprehensive regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.
