Appetite for trouble

We'd predicted that battling restaurateurs can be a recipe for disaster two months back when the first signs of trouble between two city restaurateurs had reached our ears. Suhas Awchat, who had opened a branch of Goa Portugesa in Lokhandwala, had sub-let a portion of the property to Vikram Ram to start a restobar called Soda. The two had a major falling out and the matter reached the police with allegations and counter allegations of forced eviction, cheating, theft and intimidation.

While the first round saw Ram getting arrested, this time the heat is on Awchat following an FIR claiming that he molested Ram's wife - a Canadian citizen- after he met her on the pretext of solving the dispute. On his part, Awchat has alleged that the couple have cheated almost 50 people to the tune of Rs 2 crore and have six cases registered against them. With complaints and counter complaints piling up at the police station, the matter is ready to spiral out of control and can only get uglier in the days to come.