Brawl breaks out at dhaba over demand for clearing tab

An employee had snubbed Adnan, a fruit vendor, over profiteering in Ramazan

KOTRI:

A brawl broke out at a dhaba in Jamshoro when the employee serving the table asked the client to clear his past tab.

Chairs and tables of the eatery were freely used in the slugfest that left five people injured and the premises in a shambles.

The fight ended on a settlement reached by the intervention of the local SHO.

Adnan Chandio, a vegetable and fruit vendor, with his pockets overflowing with cash after Ramzan, profiteering had come to treat his friends at the eatery of his neighbour, Laraib Mallah.

Chandio was left red faced in front of his friends when the teenaged worker bluntly asked him to clear the tab saying, "bohot maal bana liya Ramzan mein, ab tu khata clear karo (you have made a fortune in Ramazan at least clear the tab now)."

He admonished the young worker who shot back more insults on which Chandio lost his temper and slapped him. The boy went crying to the manager, who called up the crew and they all surrounded Chandio.

Meanwhile, Mallah also came and tried to calm down the situation. But Chandio got angry with his neighbour too and then all hell broke loose as the dhaba owner and his crew pounced on Chandio and his guests.

The slugfest saw free use of restaurant chairs, tables, and steel jugs. The free-for-all brawl spread panic and people left the eatery in haste, some talking the opportunity to escape without paying the bill.

Meanwhile, people nearby alerted the local policed and Jamshoro police station SHO Mukhtar Kalhoro reached the spot. By that time, five people were found injured with bruises and minor cuts.

SHO Mukhtar with his hands full with robbery cases in the restive district of Sindh, told both the parties to reach a settlement or he would have to put them all in the slammer and let the court decide what to do about the issue.

Finally, Mallah and Chandio agreed to a settlement.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2024.