Will break your legs: Delhi cloud kitchen owner vs cops over bribe claims

A 24/7 cloud kitchen in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj has alleged that police officers threatened to break workers’ legs if the outlet remained open after 10 pm and later demanded “setting” to allow operations to continue. However, the Delhi Police denied any misconduct or wrongful intent on the part of its officers.

Glisco Kitchens owner Gagandeep Singh Sapra said that despite repeated attempts to seek clarity from the Delhi Police following an alleged shutdown warning during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, he eventually managed to establish contact.

However, he claimed the officers sent to assist were the same personnel who had earlier issued the threat.

“Called 112. They say -- ‘we will send someone to help you,’ but the people they send are the same people who told us, ‘Taange tod doonga teri,’” Sapra wrote in a series of posts detailing the alleged harassment.

He further alleged that officers told him the kitchen’s complaint would not be registered and that the only way to continue operations was through informal payments.

“The beat officers who came in the PCR gave a simple answer: ‘Aap apni setting kar lo jo dena hota hai mahine ka do,’” he claimed.

Responding to Gagandeep's tweets, the Delhi Police took to X and dismissed the bribery allegations, saying, "It is further clarified that no misconduct or wrongful intent on the part of police personnel has been found."

The Delhi Police added that Gagandeep may file a detailed complaint along with supporting evidence so that the Vigilance Department can investigate the matter.

In his post, Gagandeep had alleged that the officers who visited him said the cloud kitchen’s complaint would not be accepted and that the only way to resolve the matter was by paying bribes.

“The beat officers who came in the PCR gave a simple answer: ‘Aap apni setting kar lo, hum kuch nahin kar sakte, hum chithi bhi nahin lenge aur complaint bhi nahin lenge. Aap apni setting karo, jo dena hota hai mahine ka do,’” Sapra wrote in the thread.

In the initial complaint sent by Harpreet Kaur Sapra on April 27, which was allegedly not registered, she said that a few individuals wearing Delhi Police uniforms entered their kitchen during service hours at around 2:30 am and asked them to shut operations.

“Given the nature of a working kitchen with active equipment, gas, electricity, and perishable food, we had to immediately comply to avoid any safety risk,” she wrote in the complaint.

“We were informed that operations should be limited between 8 am to 10 pm. As a 24x7 kitchen, we typically serve late-night dinners and early-morning breakfasts starting as early as 5 am. We have also regularly served police personnel on duty through online orders,” she further wrote.

However, Gagandeep said that three officials again visited them at around 9:40 pm on Monday night and explained the reason for shutting down the shop by 10 pm, saying there had been thefts in the area.

“The explanation given to us was that there have been thefts in the area, and therefore we cannot operate at night. According to them, if we want to continue operations, we must first hire private security guards and station them at the building,” Gagandeep claimed in the thread.

As a result, Gagandeep said they have shut down night-time operations in Vasant Kunj.

“This has real consequences -- six skilled, handpicked team members are sitting idle and worried about what comes next. These are hardworking individuals focused on delivering quality food, not people who deserve to be treated like criminals,” he wrote.

However, the Delhi Police, in its tweet, said that there is excessive traffic due to the large number of parked delivery vehicles and added that local residents had also raised concerns regarding late-night activities and excessive movement in the area.

"During night patrolling on 27.04.2026 at 2:00AM, similar overcrowding was observed. On inquiry, the operators failed to produce valid licenses for late-night operations. In view of the above, preventive action was taken by closing the said establishments to maintain law & order and curb theft incidents," The Delhi Police added.