Man brandishes ‘pistol’ at restaurant over bill payment

Bhopal: Panic gripped a restaurant located on Kerwa Dam Road in the Ratibad area on Wednesday night when a man was spotted carrying a pistol. The restaurant staff and other customers were alarmed as he roamed the restaurant wielding the weapon and intimidating employees. The incident occurred when the man, dining with a group of four to five friends, became enraged over the dinner bill.
Later, on Thursday, Ratibad police, acting on the complaint filed by the restaurant owner, nabbed the accused and recovered the fake pistol used by him to intimidate the restaurant staff. Police said it was a pistol-shaped lighter that the accused brandished.
SHO Ratibad RB Sharma said that the accused was identified as Nakul Raghuvanshi, 26, who hails from Vidisha and resides in Kotra Sultanabad. He runs a canteen at Hamidia Hospital.
SI Sharma said that the restaurant owner, Rahul Mishra, a resident of Arera Colony, filed a complaint on Thursday stating that on Wednesday night, families were enjoying dinner when the accused Nakul arrived with his group. After placing their order and dining, the group was presented with a bill amounting to Rs5,992 around 11:30 PM. Nakul became irate over the bill and began threatening the staff. Nakul brandished a pistol and began issuing threats. The staff managed to de-escalate the situation and later filed a police complaint on Thursday.
SHO Sharma said that the restaurant owner handed over CCTV camera footage of the incident to the police, which led to Nakul's arrest. Police have charged him with issuing threats, and abusive behaviour. Police recovered the fake pistol from his possession, which is a cigarette lighter. Further investigations were ongoing.