Hotel Bilal Biryani sealed in Chennai after 6 diners fall ill at Triplicane outlet

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The Food Safety Department has shut down Hotel Bilal Biryani in Triplicane, Chennai after six customers fell ill, allegedly from consuming spoiled food at the restaurant.

The affected individuals are currently undergoing treatment at the Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Tondiarpet. The department decided to shut down the restaurant after the customers protested and complaints were filed by two of the victims at the Triplicane police station.

A team of food safety officers led by designated officer P Satheesh Kumar, along with Chennai Corporation health officials, conducted an inspection at the restaurant on April 2.

According to a senior city police official, the restaurant had been closed since March 31, 2025, and attempts by Food Safety officials to contact its management went unanswered. Consequently, the authorities sealed the premises and issued a notice requesting an explanation from the restaurant’s management, The Hindu reported.

The police official informed that a group of six people, identified as V Vignesh, M Jaishankar, K Shyam, K Vivekanandan, A Stephen, and S Rebecca, had gone to Hotel Bilal Biryani on March 30 to have dinner.

The following morning, all six experienced severe symptoms of food poisoning, including vomiting and stomach pain, prompting them to seek treatment at a nearby private hospital. As their symptoms persisted, they were later transferred to CDH in Tondiarpet for further care.

Following a complaint filed by Vignesh's parents, Triplicane police have filed a case against the restaurant.

In a related incident, the Ice House police have also filed a case against another branch of Hotel Bilal on Mount Road, Anna Salai, after two college students suffered food poisoning. The girls, who had dinner with their family at the Mount Road branch on March 30, 2025, developed symptoms of vomiting and stomach pain, leading to their admission at Government Royapettah Hospital on April 1, 2025, where they are currently undergoing treatment.