Shocking: US man sets Bangladeshi restaurant on fire after receiving wrong biryani order

A man set ablaze a Bangladeshi restaurant in New York after receiving a botched order of chicken biryani, according to court records, New York Post reported on Monday. “I was very drunk. I bought chicken biryani. They didn’t give me chicken biryani. I was mad, and I threw it out,” 49-year-old Choephel Norbu told police officials after he was taken under arrest, as per his criminal complaint. While Norbu was arrested for the crime, he was released from custody within a day, police sources revealed. 

“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,” said the man, who allegedly ran away after setting the restaurant on fire. The incident was captured on security cameras. Norbu told the police that he had ordered the savoury rice dish at Jackson Heights’ Ittadi Garden and Grill restaurant on October 1, but had received the wrong order. 

All you need to know about the incident

“He ordered chicken biriyani and the people here behind the counter they take his order and when they bring it to him… He yells, ‘what is this?’ They say, ‘your order, chicken biriyani,’ and he throws it in their face! We don’t know why he just throws it in their face! It was just crazy!” Jahana Rahman, a waitress at the restaurant, told The Post. 

The man set the restaurant on fire with gasoline during the wee hours of the next day, according to security camera footage, which displays him, and the front of the restaurant, engulfed by flames. “People are crazy now. I have no idea why he does this,” said Abu Numan, the restaurant’s owner.