On 9 March, a woman from Bengaluru, Hitesha Chandranee, posted a video on Instagram accusing a Zomato delivery executive of assaulting her.
Following that, Zomato issued a statement saying they are investigating the matter. The company has also suspended the delivery partner till the investigation is completed.
Now, the delivery executive, Kamaraj, has spoken up and denied all the claims made by Chandranee.
In an interview with The News Minute, Kamaraj said, "She threw slippers at me and started hitting me. When she was hitting me, I tried to defend myself by using my hand to shield her blows. When she tried to push my hand away, she accidentally hit herself with her finger, which led to the bleeding".
"Anybody who sees her face will understand that this wouldn’t be created by a punch. And I don’t wear any rings", the executive added.
"I am working on this job for more than two years and this is the first time that I have had to go through this kind of an ordeal" he said.
Narrating the entire incident Kamaraj said he apologised for the late delivery. "After I reached her apartment, I handed her the food and was waiting for her to pay me (as she had opted for cash on delivery). I also apologised since the delivery was delayed due to traffic and bad roads".
"She was very rude from the outset. She kept on insisting that the order has to be delivered within 45-50 minutes", he told the publication.
Kamaraj alleged that Chandranee refused to pay for the order and said that she was in touch with the Zomato Chat Support.
Kamaraj said that he pleaded for her to pay, after which she called him a ‘slave.’ Soon, Zomato contacted Kamaraj and told him that the order had been cancelled and asked him to take back the food. He claimed that she even refused to hand back the order.
"At this point, when I was walking towards the lift, she started using expletives in Hindi. She suddenly threw slippers at me and started hitting me". This altercation led to her getting hurt, Kamaraj continued.
He told The News Minute that "the Zomato support system person in Delhi also supported me and offered me empathy after I narrated the ordeal that I had to go through. The problem is that there is no CCTV to prove my innocence".
Founder and CEO of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal, also weighed in on the incident. He shared that both sides of the story are being taken into account and all possible support is being offered to Kamaraj.
The DCP of South East Bengaluru, Joshi Srinath had arrested Kamaraj shortly after the incident took place.
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