The Food Safety department closed down a restaurant, which was operating in an unhygienic condition, at Pilathara, Kannur, on Monday. The action follows the seizure of stale food items and food material kept near the toilet during an inspection at the establishment.
The Pariyaram police have also arrested three people, including the owner of the eatery, for allegedly assaulting a doctor who took the video of the food found near the toilet in the hotel.
Dr. Subburayan of Bandadka PHC in Kasaragod, who came to have lunch at the KC Restaurant near the National Highway in Pilathara on Sunday, took the video of the food stored near the toilet in an unhygienic condition.
The hotel owner, KC Mohammad, and the staff who saw him taking the video allegedly assaulted and grabbed the doctor's phone, and destroyed it. The Pariyaram police arrested them after the doctor registered a complaint.
Following the complaint, the Food Safety department and the panchayat authorities conducted an inspection at the eatery on Monday.
T.S. Vinod Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety department, said that the inspection was carried out based on the complaint. He said they found the food material kept near the toilet and the eatery was functioning in an unhygienic condition.
“We also found stale food kept inside the restaurant. They were also unable to produce the licence following which the eatery was closed down,” he added.
This is not the first time that the hotel is facing action. Earlier, based on a complaint, the hotel was closed for a week. But it reopened after a while, the panchayat authorities said.