Man Sets Bangladeshi Restaurant In New York On Fire Over Botched Chicken Order
Follow The New York Post. The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Choephel Norbu, admitted to setting fire to the Ittadi Garden and Grill in Jackson Heights. He has been charged with arson and crime.
He testified that the night before, staff at the restaurant in Bangladesh had ordered his chicken birayni. The next day, Norbu returned to the diner and lit a fire.
“I was very drunk. I bought chicken biryani. They didn’t give me chicken biryani.” I got mad and threw it out,” Norbu told police after his arrest. The New York Post.
“I bought a can of gas and threw it in the store to try to burn it all. I lit it up, and boom, it stuck to me,” he said.
The incident was captured on CCTV cameras and the New York Fire Department released a video of it. In the footage, a man, believed to be Norbu, is seen standing outside the restaurant for a moment before throwing flammable liquid into the restaurant and setting it on fire.
Since the restaurant was closed for the night, Norbu threw flammable liquid at the shutters, and it could be seen spilling back into him.
Norbu crouched down to block the wind after reaching into his pocket to pull out what looked to be a match or lighter. Instantly catching the flame, it even threw Norbu back with a huge explosion.
The Bangladeshi restaurant is located in Queens’ multicultural Jackson Heights, also home to a small South Asian community.