Food Delivery Executive Thrashed After False Complaint From Minor

In a peculiar incident, a food delivery executive was reportedly thrashed by Bengaluru residents after an eight-year-old allegedly falsely claimed that she was forcibly taken to the terrace of a building by the gig worker. 

As per The Quint, the incident took place on June 12 at Ittina Mahavir housing complex in the Electronics City area. 

The minor in question is said to have told her parents that she bit off the hand of the executive to escape from the terrace. Right afterwards, a scuffle ensued in which the residents and guards of the complex beat up the executive. Afterwards, when the Police arrived at the spot and verified the CCTV footage, the minor was found to be lying. 

It could not be immediately verified as to which foodtech major the executive belonged to.

Meanwhile, the delivery agent has reportedly gone on leave following the incident and plans to leave the city to return to Assam for ‘personal reasons.’ The delivery executive has also refused to press charges against the minor’s parents. 

“I have a child too, so I understand the parents’ concern. But I don’t know why the girl made the allegations against me,” the executive added. 

Chronology Of Events

As per The Quint, the eight-year minor wandered off to the terrace after her parents left to drop her younger sibling at school. Nearly half an hour later, after the parents returned, they found the door locked from outside and started looking for the child.

In between, a neighbour went to look for the minor on the terrace and found her playing there and, after being questioned, fearing scolding, claimed that a stranger had dragged her to the terrace. Acting on this, the parents approached the security staff to look for the accused and the delivery accused was apprehended. The minor then identified the executive and then, in the ensuing melee, the executive was beaten up. 

Afterwards, Police arrived at the spot after the parents filed a complaint and law enforcement authorities took the statement. Later on, verifying the CCTV footage, the Police found that the executive was still at the restaurant at the time of the alleged incident. Eventually, the gig worker was finally released from custody late at night.

A Chequered Record

This is not the first time that a food delivery executive has been involved in such an incident. In the past, similar bizarre instances have also taken place with much lethal outcomes. In January this year, a Swiggy delivery agent fell to death after falling from the first floor of a building in Telangana while trying to escape a domestic dog’s attack.

Prior to that, another Swiggy delivery agent died after a collision with a car in Noida on New Year’s eve. In July last year, another delivery personnel died in a road accident in Hyderabad after ramming into a speeding tractor. 

In one instance last year, an inebriated police officer rammed his vehicle into a bus and a two-wheeler, which led to the death of a Zomato delivery executive. 

With such incidents on the rise, delivery executives have been left to deal with such instances while employing startups to stay out of the loop. Overall, it remains to be seen what strategies foodtech companies use to deal with such situations but, for now, the story goes on.