City-based businessman Maruganti Vamshikrishna Reddy and his family had one of their worst experiences at a food joint in Hyderabad. On Wednesday they went shopping at Punjagutta’s Central Mall. Tired after the shopping, they went to the Subway outlet in the mall, where Vamshi’s daughter ordered a cold fountain drink. However, when sipping on the drink she felt something odd in her mouth. On removing the substance, she realised that it was a cockroach. Shocked, Vamshi opened the cup to find four more live cockroaches in the drink.
Later the outlet owner, identified as Sireesha, reprimanded Vamshi for entering the kitchen without permission. She also accused Vamshi of misbehaving with her. Claiming that she was making the accusations to try to cover up the issues he had pointed out, Vamshi then shot a video.
The video shows her behaving rudely with him and accusing him of touching her, whereas the visuals show her trying to seize his phone while he filmed the incident.
Vamshi later shared the episode, along with photographs and videos on social media, which has now gone viral.
A customer was shocked to find cockroaches in his food served at Subway, Hyderabad Central Punjagutta. He took a video and also lodged a complaint. pic.twitter.com/0FjbR5u88D
— Vamsi Kaka (@vamsikaka) May 17, 2018
Speaking to TNM, Vamshi says, “We went for shopping since it was my daughter’s birthday the next day. After shopping, my daughter felt thirsty and ordered a cool drink. She felt something weird while sipping on it and that’s when we saw cockroaches in the drink.”
He added, “Initially I was only confronting them after seeing the untidy kitchen that was infested with cockroaches. Then this owner tried to divert the topic and made it look like I was misbehaving with her. That’s when I started filming the entire episode. She behaved very rudely. Instead of addressing the concerns raised by me, she was shooing away me. She even called the security guards several times to throw me out. When I said that I will share the photos and videos online, she said, ‘Do whatever you want, I have seen many people like you.’”
Before leaving the outlet Vamshi insisted on getting the bill. Instead, the staff gave him Rs 100, he alleges.
“I waited for nearly 30 minutes, asking them for a duplicate bill since we had misplaced the original. However, they made me wait and then gave me a Rs 100 note. After a lot of persuasion, the staff finally gave us the bill.”
Vamshi later filed a complaint at the Punjagutta police station and also with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) food safety department.
Following the complaint, the department officials said they would inspect the outlet.
Food Safety Inspector Sudharshan Reddy told TNM, “We are now going to inspect the place. Appropriate action will be taken if the complaint is true.”
Vamshi said that he would also approach the consumer court for the poor maintenance of the outlet and the unruly behaviour of the owner.