Zomato delists restaurant, bans owner as girl dies after eating cake ordered online (Lead)

New Delhi, March 31 (IANS) Online food delivery platform Zomato on Sunday said it has delisted the restaurant from its platform as well as debarred its owner after a 10-year-old girl died post eating a birthday cake ordered online from the restaurant in Patiala.

After facing heavy criticism on social media, the company said they 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,” a company spokesperson told IANS.

“We are extending our complete support to the law enforcement agencies in the matter,” the spokesperson added.

A case under Sections 273 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered by the police, following a complaint lodged by the girl’s family members, alleging that the girl died after consuming the birthday cake. Other family members also fell ill after consuming the cake.

As per the bill copy of the cake, which was ordered by the deceased girl’s mother Kajal, there is no shop named ‘Cake Kanha’ at the registered address in Patiala.

The police suspect that the bakery is a cloud kitchen. Additionally, another receipt invoice from Zomato shows billing done from Amritsar, not Patiala.

Netizens slammed the online food delivery platform for poor regulation over Cloud kitchens listed as food-delivering apps.

–IANS

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