India: Vegetarian man 'served' dead rat at Mumbai's Barbeque Nation; files FIR over company's casual response

A lawyer from Uttar Pradesh (UP) shared his harrowing incident on social media when he found a dead rat in his vegetarian meal at Mumbai’s Barbeque Nation. 35-year-old Rajeev Shukla from UP’s Prayagraj encountered the incident when he was on a visit to Mumbai on January 8.

He shared the pictures of a dead rat floating in his meal, after which he was hospitalised in a Mumbai hospital.

The unexpected event happened when Shukla ordered a Classic Veg Meal Box Regular from Barbeque Nation in Worli. On receiving the food, he was flabbergasted to find “dead rats and cockroaches” in the Dal Makhni.

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In a subsequent event, he experienced gastric distress and ran to BYL Nair Hospital to seek medical attention, a picture of which he shared on X as well.

Expressing his dismay, Shukla shared, “I am a Brahmin and a pure vegetarian, but when my Barbeque Nation order arrived, it gave me the shock of my life. The food contained a dead rat and cockroaches. I suffered food poisoning and got admitted to Nair hospital,” as reported by the Free Press Journal.

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Shukla promptly notified Barbeque Nation via email, detailing the contamination issue in his food. He wrote, “Received food with rat and insect, and unfortunately, I consumed its major portion. This is just not done since I am a vegetarian, also this is intolerable and I feel like puking; vomited already and it’s continuously running in my head and giving me nausea. Food business is (intended) to keep us alive and not to kill us.”

Company’s casual response forced the man to file an FIR

Upon expressing his distress and bearing the expense of medical attention, the company replied casually to Shukla, which triggered a row over the incident.

‘Manoj CRS Team, Barbeque Nation,’ read the company’s response, “Dear Guest, We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced and appreciate you taking the time to bring it to our attention. I would like to assure you that your concerns are of the utmost importance to us.”

Shukla in frustration and dissatisfaction over the company’s half-hearted response went to Nagpada Police Station and lodged an FIR against the owner, manager, and chef of Barbeque Nation.

(With inputs from agencies)