Bengaluru restaurant nightmare: Valets filming Insta reels crash woman's Rs 1.4 cr Mercedes

A happy family dinner turned into a nightmare for Bengaluru resident Divya Chhabra when her newly purchased Mercedes-Benz, worth a whopping Rs 1.4 crore, was severely damaged by the valets of a popular restaurant.

The incident, which took place on February 26 at The Big Barbeque restaurant in Marathahalli has been making rounds now as the video of the damaged car has surfaced online recently. According to a social media post, the valet drivers crashed the car into a wall, causing Rs 20 lakh in damages.

20 minutes of Food Cost 20 lakh loss in Bengaluru MarathahalliBengalurus failing governance, corporate negligence, and police corruption have once again come to light in a shocking incident at The Big Barbecue, Marathahalli. A womans 1.4 crore Mercedes-Benz was wrecked due pic.twitter.com/6RX0genSpQ

Karnataka Portfolio (@karnatakaportf) April 3, 2025

Divya had visited the restaurant with her family and handed over her car keys to a valet driver, who seemed confident. She even asked him if he was comfortable handling such a high-end car and offered to park it herself. The valet reassured her that there was no problem and that he would take care of the vehicle.

"Since it’s an expensive car, we were cautious and specifically asked him if he was comfortable parking it. We even offered to park it ourselves if needed. He confidently assured us that it was no issue, and he would handle it carefully," Indian Express quoted her as saying.

However, once Divya and her family entered the restaurant, two other men, who were not the designated valet, accessed the car and drove it to the basement. Allegedly, they were trying to make Instagram reels inside the luxury vehicle. In the process, they crashed it into a wall, causing Rs 20 lakh worth of damage.

The restaurant reportedly tried to cover up the incident. According to a viral post on social media, the valet drivers fled the scene after the crash. When Divya tried to get answers, the restaurant allegedly provided false information and even presented a fake contract with a third-party valet company, backdated to make it seem like they weren't directly involved.

Divya said that the person who ultimately crashed the car did not even have a valid driving licence. He had got the job with the restaurant using a fake driving licence.

When she approached the police for help, the officials reportedly advised her to “settle” the matter for just Rs 2 lakh, rather than filing a formal complaint.