CCTV footage shows Norbu throwing the flammable substance towards restaurant.
The New York Police have arrested a man who set a Bangladeshi restaurant on fire in the Queens area over a botched chicken biryani order, according to the New York Post. The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Choephel Norbu, admitted to setting Ittadi Garden and Grill in Jackson Heights ablaze. He has been charged with arson and criminal mischief.
He claims that the previous night, the staff at the Bangladeshi eatery messed up his order for chicken birayni. The next day, Norbu went back to the eatery and set it on fire.
"I was very drunk. I bought chicken biryani. They didn't give me chicken biryani. "I was mad, and I threw it out," Norbu told police following his arrest, according to the New York Post.
"I bought a gas can, and I threw it at the store to try to burn it out. I lit it up, and boom, it got on me," he said.
The incident was caught on CCTV cameras, and the Fire Department of New York has released a video of it. In the footage, a man, allegedly Norbu, is seen standing outside the restaurant for a while before tossing the flammable liquid at it and setting it on fire.
As the restaurant was closed at night, Norbu threw the flammable liquid at the shutter, and it can be seen spilling back at him.
Norbu bends over to provide cover from the wind after reaching into his pocket to take out what looks to be a match or a lighter. Instantly catching the flame, it even threw the Norbu back with a huge explosion.
The Bangladeshi restaurant is located in Queens' multicultural Jackson Heights, which is also home to a small South Asian community.