FIR against owners, representative of Rameshwaram Cafe for selling noxious food
Bengaluru (PTI): The owners and a representative of popular eatery Rameshwaram Cafe have been booked on charges of selling noxious food, criminal conspiracy and fabricating false evidence, among other offenses, police said on Monday.
Following a complaint lodged by Nikhil N, who alleged serious food safety violation and subsequent attempt to defame him through a false counter-complaint, the FIR was registered against the eatery's owner - Raghavendra Rao, his wife Divya Raghavendra Rao and senior executive Sumanth Lakshminarayan at the BIAL police station on November 29, they said.
The incident occurred on July 24 this year at terminal 1 of Kempegowda International Airport. Nikhil was at the airport to board a flight to Guwahati, police said.
According to the FIR, at the Rameshwaram Cafe's terminal 1 outlet, Nikhil ordered 'Ven Pongal' and filter coffee. He allegedly found a worm in the food. He immediately alerted the staff, who offered to replace the dish, but he refused as he wanted to board the flight.
While other customers took a photo of the worm, Nikhil claimed he left the cafe without creating any problem and boarded his flight, it said.
The following day, Nikhil learnt through media reports that a case had been lodged against him in Bengaluru accusing him of threatening the cafe's brand reputation and demanding Rs 25 lakh, the FIR stated.
During an investigation into the complaint lodged by the representative of the cafe, Nikhil and his friends were summoned for questioning, police said.
In the complaint, Nikhil denied making any financial demands or even seeking a refund and asserted that his flight records prove he was airborne at the time cited in the cafe's complaint, making the allegations false.
Police also later clarified that no evidence was found against Nikhil and his friends that they were involved in blackmail or extortion.
Later, Nikhil lodged a counter-complaint and termed the incident a serious food-safety violation. He accused the cafe owners and the representative of filing a false case against him with the intention of defaming and harassing him.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy), 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 217 (false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person), 228 (fabricated false evidence) 229 (punishment for false evidence), 274 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale) and 275 (sale of noxious food or drink) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the matter is under investigation, police added.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
