Zomato delists restaurant after birthday cake reportedly causes tragic death of young girl

Food delivery app, Zomato responded to the backlash caused by a tragic incident in Patiala.  A young girl passed away after consuming her birthday cake ordered using Zomato. The company has announced that the restaurant has been removed from its platform, according to a report by IANS. Furthermore, they have barred the restaurant owner from operating any entities on Zomato in the future. The company also stated its commitment to fully support law enforcement agencies with their investigation.

Reportedly, the young girl passed away after consuming a birthday cake ordered from a restaurant named ‘Cake Kanha’. The same cake, which was also consumed by other members of the family also caused illness among them.

A Zomato spokesperson said, “We are heartbroken and deeply shaken up by the recent tragic incident that happened in Patiala. As soon as we learnt 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. We are extending our complete support to the law enforcement agencies in the matter.”

The police have lodged a case under Sections 273 (selling harmful food or drink) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), acting on a complaint from the girl’s family. This marks a serious step towards addressing the legal implications of the incident.

Troubling Evidence

A crucial piece of evidence has been the discovery that the physical address listed for ‘Cake Kanha’ does not exist in Patiala, as per the order's bill copy. This has led the police to suspect the operation might be a cloud kitchen, a restaurant that serves customers exclusively through online orders without a physical dining space. Another receipt showed billing from Amritsar, not Patiala, raising questions about the business's operations.