Roadside eatery worker held after video shows him spitting on rotis

LUCKNOW In yet another incident, a worker of a roadside eatery in Barabanki district was arrested for disturbing peace and communal harmony after a purported video showed him spitting on rotis while baking them, police officials confirmed on Wednesday. They said the Food Safety and Drug Administration team had sealed the eatery taking cognizance of the viral video and initiated further action in the matter.
Additional superintendent of police Chiranjeev Nath Sinha said the incident was said to be of Tuesday afternoon when a passer-by secretly prepared the video of the worker preparing rotis at the eatery on the roadside in Sudhiyamau town under Ramnagar police station limits. He said the video had gone viral on social media, showing the man allegedly preparing rotis by applying saliva.
“Based on the video, the police took the accused, identified as Mohd Irshad, into custody on Tuesday and booked him under precautionary measures for disturbing peace and communal harmony through his act,” the ASP said and added, “The FSDA authorities have sealed the eatery and the rotis have been seized for examination”. He said that further action would be taken based on the findings of the probe.
Recently, similar incidents were reported in other districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Saharanpur, Ghaziabad and Shamli. On October 15, the state government also proposed to make a law that made such actions a non-bailable offence, entailing severe punishment up to 10 years of imprisonment .
Recent Incidents
On September 11, Saharanpur police arrested a hotel staffer after a viral video purportedly showed him spitting on rotis.
On September 12, a juice vendor in Ghaziabad and a 15-year-old boy working at his outlet were held for allegedly mixing urine in juices. Police claimed they recovered a plastic can filled with urine from the outlet.
On September 23, a minor hotel staffer in Shamli was taken into police custody after a viral video purportedly showed him spitting on chapatis while putting them in tandoor.
On October 15, the maid of a businessman family in Ghaziabad was arrested for allegedly mixing urine to make flour dough before preparing chapatis.