Delivery boy who assaulted Instagram influencer in Bengaluru arrested; Zomato apologises

The Zomato delivery boy accused of assaulting Instagram influencer Hitesha Chandranee has been arrested in Bengaluru on the charges of assaulting a woman. Zomato issued an apology statement right after this arrest took place.

Zomato said, "We deeply regret this incident and apologise to Hitesha for this traumatic experience." The online food delivery company added, "We are in touch with her and are providing our complete support through the necessary medical care and investigation. Meanwhile, we have delisted the delivery partner from our platform."

In her first video, Hitesha can be seen with a bloody nose. According to her, she was trying to sort out the issue of a delayed order by talking to Zomato's customer care executive. This is when the delivery person attacked her and ran away.

In the second video, Hitesha can be seen with a bandaged nose and says she placed the order at 03:30 pm and the delivery time was around 04:30 pm. Since her order was getting delayed, she asked Zomato to either provide her with free delivery or to cancel her order. She mentions: "The Zomato guy reached and he was very rude". Hitesha does not open the door fully when someone comes and is thus talking to the delivery boy through a slit.

After this, she asked the delivery boy to wait since she had to confirm whether there is free delivery on the order or it needs to be taken back. According to her account, she said it was okay if the order was taken back. She claims the delivery boy's behaviour was extremely threatening as he refused to oblige and retorted with "Am I your slave or what? You are asking me to wait for such a long time. What is this?"

Chandranee further added, "I got scared and tried shutting my door. He pushed the door and he snatched the order from my table-- he entered my house and he punched me on my face so that I don't get back to him and he ran away," adding that since she is a single girl, people do not come to help out in such matters.

In the third video, Hitesha can be seen lying on a hospital bed and saying that her nasal bone is broken and surgery needs to be conducted. She adds she can't talk since her eyes get watery and her nose starts bleeding when she starts talking. She, however, says she can manage to talk a bit since she is being given antibiotics and painkillers. She also thanked the Karnataka Police for all their cooperation.

Also read: Zomato delivery boy assaults woman, leaves her bleeding with broken nose