A case was registered against the owner and waiter of a restaurant on Tuesday after a four-year-old child had to spend two days in an intensive care unit (ICU) as the waiter handed him a bottle of caustic soda instead of sugar as mouth freshener.
The police are yet to identify the waiter but have registered a case under Section 337 of Indian Penal Code
“We are checking the CCTV camera footage of the restaurant to identify the waiter as the child does not remember. We are awaiting reports from the hospital regarding the child’s case. An arrest is imminent. Even if it is an act done by mistake, the child developed ulcers,” said senior inspector Krishna Indalkar of Dattawadi police station.
The child, along with his elder brother and grandfather, had visited a restaurant in Sadashiv peth on Sunday where the incident took place.
“They had gone to Sarasbaug and around 6:30-6:45pm went to the restaurant. While leaving, the child asked for sugar as mouth freshener and a waiter handed him a bottle. As soon as he ate it, he started screaming. His grandfather tasted what he ate and found it to be washing soda,” said the mother of the injured.
The parents claim that the owner of the restaurant asked for the matter to be settled without the police getting involved, but the former refused.
{{/usCountry}}The parents claim that the owner of the restaurant asked for the matter to be settled without the police getting involved, but the former refused.
{{/usCountry}}“My child couldn’t eat. It is not a minor issue that could be settled,” the child’s parent said.
The child was admitted to Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital where he was subjected to endoscopy to check whether he had swallowed any of the soda, according to the mother. “Superficial corrosive injury in mid and distal oesophagus with few exudates,” reads a report from Mangeshkar hospital.
The police are investigating the matter while the restaurant contact lines remained unreachable after many attempts to reach the owner for comment.