BENGALURU: A dispute over an extra empty cup at a coffee outlet in Sheshadripuram spiraled into a violent brawl on Wednesday evening, leading to the arrest of a 33-year-old man. The accused, identified as Arun Kumar, a driver and resident of Palace Guttahalli, was arrested by Seshadripuram police for assaulting a café employee.
The altercation took place at Namma Filter Coffee, where Arun had arrived with two friends. According to the complaint filed by Islam Ul Haque, 21, who works as both cashier and coffee maker at the shop, one of the trio ordered a “two by three” coffee — a popular way of splitting two cups into three portions. Haque informed them that the café does not offer “by two” or similar customized servings.
Despite this, Arun’s friend paid for three full cups, which Haque served accordingly. However, when the customer requested an extra empty cup, Haque declined, citing store policy. This reportedly led to the group abusing him with foul language.
“I objected to their language, and a heated argument followed. That’s when they started attacking me,” Haque alleged in his complaint.
CCTV footage reviewed by the police confirms the sequence of events. It shows one of Arun’s friends storming behind the counter and assaulting Haque. In response, Haque grabbed a sharp object and struck back. The situation escalated further when Arun and his other friend joined in, dragging Haque from behind the counter and continuing the assault. Despite being outnumbered, Haque fought back against the attackers.
Police arrested Arun soon after the incident. A senior police officer confirmed that he was released on bail and that further legal action is underway.
The incident has sparked conversations on social media regarding customer entitlement and the safety of frontline workers in the service industry.
