Restaurant aggregator and food-delivery startup Zomato responded to an altercation between a food delivery executive and a customer in Bengaluru, which left the latter with a bloody nose and a fracture. Zomato in its response said, "We deeply regret the incident that happened between Hitesha Chandranee and the delivery partner in Bengaluru. We can assure you this is not the experience our delivery universe upholds. The case is currently under investigation by the police. We have extended our full support to help resolve this with our team on ground being on top of it."
The company said that officials had spoken to Hitesha and that the food delivery partner was suspended from its platform pending an investigation. "We spoke to Hitesha as soon we got (news of) the escalation, met her and offered our complete support. We're in constant touch with her. As per our protocol, we've suspended the delivery partner from our platform pending investigation. Our team has been with him throughout and we'll ensure due process is followed," the company said.
Zomato said it will take all necessary steps to resolve the situation and prevent such incidents in the future.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when Hitesha made an order on the Zomato application. In a video posted on Instagram, Hitesha, who is seen with a bloody gash on her nose, says that the delivery partner attacked her after a discussion about a delay in the delivery of the order. She also alleged that the delivery partner barged into her house and abused her. She identified the delivery partner as Kamaraj.
Sources told TNM that the delivery partner in his statement alleged that Hitesha hit him with a slipper and that he responded in self-defence, which led to her getting hurt due to a door. Speaking to TNM, Hitesha said that she picked up a sandal in self defence when the delivery partner allegedly entered her home but she added that he punched her.