Five months after a customer complained of finding an insect in his food at the popular Rameshwaram Café outlet in Kempegowda International Airport, a fresh controversy has erupted. While the café had filed a case earlier, the customer has now filed a counter-complaint.
Based on a complaint filed by Nikhil N., a city-based realtor, the Kempegowda International Airport police have registered an FIR against café owners Raghavendra Rao, his wife Divya Raghavendra Rao, and senior executive Sumanth Lakshminarayan. They have been booked for selling harmful food, giving false information, criminal conspiracy, and issuing threats.
According to the complaint, Mr. Nikhil, a resident of Marathahalli, visited the café’s Terminal-1 outlet on July 24. He allegedly found an insect in the pongal served to him. Although the staff reportedly agreed to replace the dish, Nikhil refused because he had a flight to catch. The incident was recorded by other customers, and photographs of the contaminated pongal were taken, the complaint states.
However, even before the customer filed his complaint, the case had taken a twist. The next day, Sumanth Lakshminarayan, the café’s operations head, lodged a complaint at the Vyalikaval police station accusing the group of customers of blackmail and extortion, alleging that they had demanded ₹25 lakh.
Published – December 02, 2025 12:01 am IST
