Rameshwaram Cafe Owners Face Case Over Worm In Food, Criminal Conspiracy

A police case has been filed a case against the owner of Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe, Raghavendra Rao, his wife Divya Raghavendra Rao, and senior executive Sumanth Lakshminarayan after a 19-year-old customer filed a complaint alleging food adulteration, criminal conspiracy, and other related offences.

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed on Saturday after the complainant alleged that a "superworm" was found in the food served at the Rameshwaram Cafe at the Bengaluru airport in July.

According to the FIR, the complainant had arrived at Kempegowda International Airport's Terminal 1 on July 24 at around 7.42 am along with friends to travel from Bengaluru to Guwahati. They went to Rameshwaram Cafe for breakfast and ordered Pongal and filter coffee. A superworm (insect) was allegedly found in the food, following which the complainant immediately informed the staff. Although the staff said they would replace the food, the complainant refused the replacement. Several customers present at the cafe recorded the incident in photos and videos.

The FIR states that the complainant left the cafe without creating any commotion and proceeded to board the flight at around 8:45 am. The next day, on July 25, the complainant learned through media reports that Rameshwaram Cafe representative Sumanth BL had filed a complaint accusing the complainant of demanding Rs 25 lakh and threatening the cafe's brand.

The complainant has also stated that at the time mentioned in the complaint filed by Sumanth BL on July 24, they were already on the flight and have the records to prove it. They further state that they have no connection with any of the phone numbers mentioned in that complaint and had not sought any compensation, refund, or financial demand.

The FIR further mentions that the complainant has sought verification of the cafe's CCTV footage from 7:30-8:00 am on July 24, 2025, along with their boarding pass, flight travel records, and related call details. The complainant states that serving unsafe or contaminated food is a serious food safety violation and alleges that Rameshwaram Cafe owners/representatives, Raghavendra Rao, Divya Raghavendra Rao, and Sumanth BL, endangered their lives by serving contaminated food, attempted to defame and harass them, and filed a false extortion case, causing serious harm to their dignity and reputation.