AHMEDABAD: A street-food dispute over two missing panipuris turned into a dramatic public spectacle in Vadodara’s bustling Sursagar area on Thursday evening, halting traffic and drawing a massive crowd.
According to police, around 5 pm, a woman, who had been regularly visiting a local panipuri stall for the past two days, bought panipuri worth Rs 20. Soon after, she angrily accused the vendor of cheating her by serving two panipuris less and claimed he had been short-changing her repeatedly.
What began as a verbal spat quickly spiralled into chaos. The woman sat down in the middle of the road, blocking vehicles and triggering curiosity among passers-by. Drivers stopped, and within minutes, a crowd gathered, trying to figure out why the woman was staging such a dramatic protest.
As tempers flared, the woman broke down in tears, alleging harassment. “Every time he gives me fewer panipuris and abuses me. He bullies me and treats me badly. I don’t want his lorry here, stop it,” she told police officers, refusing to leave the road.
The vendor, however, strongly denied the accusations, insisting he had been running his stall at the same spot for 14 years without trouble. “I even gave her extra panipuris to calm her down, but she still hit me,” he claimed, shocked by the unexpected drama.
Police soon arrived to manage the crowd and pacify the woman. After a round of counselling, they managed to escort her to the police station and later sent her home.
However, the matter did not end there. The woman warned police, saying, “If that lorry is back in two hours, it won’t be good.” Taking her threat seriously, police revisited the spot and found the vendor had resumed business. Officers once again counselled him and ordered him to temporarily remove his stall, finally bringing the heated standoff to a close.