Ghaziabad eatery worker arrested for 'spitting' on rotis; video goes viral

Police confirmed the arrest and said that the Food Safety and Drugs Department had conducted a sampling at the eatery.

Updated on: Jan 11, 2025, 11:18:20 IST

By HT News Desk

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A 20-year-old eatery worker in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad was arrested on Friday for allegedly spitting on food he was preparing.

The Uttar Pradesh government has proposed passing two ordinances to penalise spitting in food with imprisonment of up to 10 years, a punishment usually reserved for heinous crimes such as attempted murder or rape. (Representative image) (HT File)

The man is employed as a tandoori roti maker in a local eatery near Lodhi Chowk police outpost, Ghaziabad. He is a native of Nai Basti, Dhampur in Bijnor district, news agency PTI reported.

A video of him allegedly spitting on a roti before placing it inside a tandoor was shared on social media.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Police said they promptly visited the eatery and arrested the accused for the act. Indirapuram Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Swatantra Kumar Singh, confirmed the arrest and said that the Food Safety and Drugs Department had conducted a sampling at the eatery.

Similar incident in Saharanpur

On October 16 last year, UP police detained a tandoor worker and the owner of an eatery after several people complained that he had been spitting on rotis before baking them. The arrest was made after Bajrang Dal approached the police on Tuesday with a purported viral video of the incident.

Also read | ‘Human waste in food disgusting’: Yogi Adityanath issues norms for UP eateries

UP plans ordinance

The BJP-ruled state has proposed passing two ordinances to penalise spitting in food with imprisonment of up to 10 years, a punishment usually reserved for heinous crimes such as attempted murder or rape.

The two proposed ordinances are UP Prevention of Contamination (Consumer Right to Know) and UP Prevention of Impersonation and Anti-harmony Activities and Prohibition of Spitting. The ordinances also included provisions for cancelling licences and penalties for mixing urine or waste.

Also read | No 'rotis with spit' or 'Hapur-wala juice': CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates floating restaurant

The two ordinances, which will penalise contaminating food with human waste and force all eateries to put up nameplates giving details of owners and staff, come days after chief minister Yogi Adityanath spoke out against such “contamination” by “some groups.”

The opposition parties had condemned the proposal as communally inspired.

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