Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal releases official statement, says 'covering Bengaluru woman's medical bills and delivery boy's legal expenses

New Delhi: In the wake of the recent Zomato controversy in Bengaluru related to the delivery boy and a woman, the founder of the food delivery giant has responded with an official statement. 

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal in a statement said: 

I want to chime in about the incident that happened in Bengaluru a few days ago. @zomato pic.twitter.com/8mM9prpMsx — Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 12, 2021

A woman named Hitesha Chandranee accused the Zomato delivery executive of assaulting her which left her nose bleeding in a video. Soon, reactions from all walks of life flooded the internet demanding action. 

However, a day later, the delivery boy named Kamaraj denied all the allegations made against him by the woman and said that she instead hit her nose with her own ring. 

In an interview with The News Minute, the delivery person named Kamaraj, who has been suspended by the company after the complaint, said, "After I reached her apartment door, I handed her the food and I was expecting her to pay me (as she had opted for cash on delivery mode of payment). I also apologised since the delivery was delayed due to traffic and bad roads. But she was very rude from the outset. She asked me ‘Why are you late?’ I replied apologetically, as there were road blocks due to ongoing civic works and there were traffic jams as well.  But she kept on insisting that the order has to be delivered within 45-50 minutes. I am working on this job for more than two years and this is the first time that I have had to go through this kind of an ordeal."

He added that the woman refused to pay after accepting the order and said that she is talking to Zomato chat support. 

The delivery executive claimed to have pleaded to her for paying the bill but the woman called him a 'slave'. After which, the Zomato support told the guy that the order has been cancelled, but the woman refused to give back the food. 

"At this point, when I was walking towards the lift, she started using expletives in Hindi. She suddenly threw slippers at me and started hitting me. For my safety, when she was hitting me, I tried to use my hand to shield her blows. When she was trying to push my hand away, she accidentally hit herself with her finger ring on the nose, which led to the bleeding. Anybody who sees her face will understand that this wouldn't be created by a punch. And I don’t wear any rings."

Kamaraj added, "the Zomato support system person in Delhi also supported me and offered me empathy after I narrated the ordeal that I had to go through. The problem is there is no CCTV footage to prove my innocence."

In an official statement, Zomato said, "We deeply regret this incident and apologise to Hitesha for this traumatic experience. 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."