Man fails to pay bill, eatery staff strip him

Kolkata: A Chinese restaurant-cum-bar owner and his staff were arrested by the police for allegedly disrobing a male customer for failing to pay bill after having drinks at their outlet in Tangra. The bizzare incident took place on Saturday evening.

The victim, D. Chakraborty, aged around 45, is a resident of Beliaghata in north Kolkata. An on-duty traffic sergeant at the Science City crossing found him walking around naked on EM Bypass.

He approached him and offered him clothes from his motorcycle before trying to know from him why he did not wear clothes.

The man, who was in a drunken state, told him that he was disrobed at Fung Fa, a Chinese restaurant and bar, in China Town, where he visited in the afternoon according to the police. He had been a regular customer there for the past two years. On Sunday, Mr Chakraborty was taken to the Pragati Maidan police station where he lodged a complaint.

While talking to him the cops, however, found some inconsistencies in his conversation. Checking his background the police however learnt that Mr Chakraborty suffers from mental disorder.

Earlier, he had allegedly left home after locking his aged mother inside. His mother was rescued later by the police. Acting on his complaint a police team, meanwhile, visited the resto-bar.

Its owner Lichuan Chang, however, alleged that the customer consumed liquor before going out without paying the bill, which was around Rs 1,500, said a senior officer of the Pragati Maidan police station. When a staff, Subrata Das, caught the customer, the latter claimed that he did not have money. An altercation took place between them. Preliminary investigation, however, revealed that Subrata, on the owner’s order, had disrobed the customer.

But the owner claimed to the police that it was the customer who took off his clothes and gave it away to them in exchange of the amount of his drinks bill.

Lichuan and Subrata were later arrested by the police on the charges of 341, 323, 290, 294, 506 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code.

On Sunday, the duo were produced at the court which however, granted them bail.