Startup Originals Team
A police First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the owners and a senior executive of Rameshwaram Cafe at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, after a traveller claimed to have found a “superworm” in his food. The case, registered under multiple criminal and food-safety related charges, has stirred fresh concerns about hygiene and accountability in public eateries.
What Happened: The Allegation and Initial Response
On 24 July 2025, the customer, along with friends, visited the cafe’s Terminal 1 outlet and ordered Ven Pongal and filter coffee. According to his complaint, he discovered a worm in the dish and immediately alerted the staff. Although the staff offered to replace the food, he refused because he needed to catch his flight. Several other customers at the café recorded photos and videos of the worm.
The next day, the customer claims he learned through media reports that the cafe’s representative (senior staff) had filed a counter-complaint accusing him of extortion, alleging he demanded ₹25 lakh and threatened the brand’s reputation. The customer says these allegations were false; he contends he was already on board his flight at the time cited in the counter-complaint, and has his boarding pass and travel records to prove this.
FIR Filed: Charges Against Cafe Owners and Staff
On 29 November 2025, the BIAL police station registered an FIR based on the customer’s complaint. The case names the cafe’s owner, Raghavendra Rao, his wife, Divya Raghavendra Rao, and a senior executive, Sumanth Lakshminarayan.
The charges filed include: selling noxious food, food adulteration, criminal conspiracy, providing false information or evidence, and defamation.
Police said they found no evidence of any extortion or blackmail from the customer in their preliminary inquiry, which prompted them to register the counter-case against the cafe’s management.
What the Customer Alleges vs What the Cafe Claims:
- Customer’s side: He alleges serious negligence and food-safety violation by serving contaminated food, and that the subsequent complaint against him was false and intended to intimidate. He has requested CCTV footage from 7:30–8:00 am (when the alleged incident occurred), flight records, and call logs related to the numbers named in the cafe’s complaint.
- Cafe’s side: The management claims the whole incident was staged. They alleged that a group of individuals planned to harass the brand, threaten bad publicity, and extort ₹25 lakh. They filed a police complaint immediately after the viral video surfaced.
Both parties submitted conflicting narratives, and the police have now begun a formal investigation.
Legal & Public Safety Implications:
The FIR includes serious offences: food adulteration and sale of noxious food (which carries severe penalties), and criminal conspiracy and false evidence charges, reflecting the gravity of the allegations.
As a high-traffic eatery located inside an international airport, the case shines a spotlight on hygiene standards and regulatory compliance in food outlets serving travellers, a reminder of the need for strict oversight and transparency. Authorities have begun probing CCTV footage, transaction records, and other evidence as part of the investigation.
What to Watch Next:
- Verification of CCTV footage from the cafe during the incident time window, could confirm whether the worm was present in the food served.
- Forensic and food-safety inspection results, to determine contamination or negligence under laboratory testing.
- Outcome of the legal case, whether the charges are proven, or if the cafe succeeds in showing the allegation was a staged extortion attempt.
- Possibility of regulatory action, including health-inspections, license review, or wider audits for airport-based and other high-footfall eateries.
Conclusion:
The case against Rameshwaram Cafe following a worm-in-food allegation underscores the thin line between customer grievance and criminal accusations in food safety incidents. With serious charges lodged against the cafe’s owners, the investigation’s outcome will likely shape discussions around hygiene, accountability, and public trust, especially for restaurants serving travellers. What began as a breakfast at the airport may yet become a seminal case for food-safety compliance in high-traffic public eateries.
