The Pure Food Court in Dhaka has issued arrest warrants against the owners of four prominent restaurants in the Motijheel area for the preparation and sale of unsafe food under unhygienic conditions.
The warrants, issued on 4 March, 2026, follow legal proceedings initiated under the Safe Food Act, 2013. The move comes after an inspection conducted on the morning of 22 February, by officials from Region – 2 of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
The drive targeted Ghoroa Hotel and Restaurant, Khalil Hotel and Restaurant, Rizik Restaurant, and Deshbandhu Sweetmeat and Restaurant, located at 152 and 9/C 4, 5 Motijheel.
During the operation, inspectors discovered evidence of unhygienic food preparation and storage at Khalil Hotel and Ghoroa Hotel.
Authorities found that rose water was being used in food preparation and seized approximately five kilograms of foul-smelling, spoiled shawarma that had been stored for an extended period to be served to customers.
The spoiled items were destroyed on-site in the presence of the owners.
DSCC Safe Food Inspector Kamrul Hasan stated that the establishments had been warned several times regarding these irregularities.
He noted that Ariful Islam Sohel, owner of Ghoroya Hotel, and Mahbubur Rahman, manager of Khalil Hotel, had previously provided both written and verbal assurances that such violations would not be repeated.
Subsequent laboratory tests on food samples collected during the raid confirmed that the products were adulterated and did not meet safety standards.
According to certification issued on 25 February, 2026, the ghee from Khalil Hotel showed an iodine value of 78.59, significantly higher than the standard range of 26–35, while its milk fat content was only 90.42 percent, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 99.7 percent.
Other findings revealed that yoghurt from Ghoroa Hotel and Rizik Restaurant contained only 1.37 percent and 1.43 percent milk protein respectively, both falling short of the 2.7 percent minimum.
Additionally, the rosogolla from Deshbandhu Sweetmeat and Restaurant was found to have a protein content of 3.92 percent (below the 5 percent requirement) and a sucrose level of 54.91 percent, exceeding the allowable limit of 50 percent.
Following approval from relevant authorities, the cases were filed in the Pure Food Court, which took the charges into cognizance before issuing the warrants against the accused owners.
