Hyderabad: Mohammed Rizwan, a food delivery boy in Hyderabad, met with a tragic end on January 11 when he was attacked by a German Shepherd dog while delivering food to an apartment in Banjara Hills. Rizwan suffered critical injuries and passed away three days later, leaving his family in a financial crisis. The 23-year-old was the sole breadwinner of his family and had discontinued his education to take care of his ailing father. He used to earn about Rs 500 to Rs 700 a day, working from noon to night for food delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato.
After the incident, the dog owner N. Shobana was booked by the police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. As Rizwan was filling in for his elder brother on the day of the incident, his family was concerned that they would not receive any compensation from the food delivery aggregator. They opted for an out-of-court settlement with the dog owner for Rs 5 lakh, withdrawing the police case against her.
Rizwan’s family and friends remember him as a jovial boy who was passionate about cricket. His ID with Swiggy was blocked for some reasons, and he was sometimes filling in for his brother. However, since he was not a registered delivery partner with Swiggy, his family is unlikely to receive any assistance from the company. According to Shaik Salauddin, the founder-president of Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union, the family deserved to be paid about Rs 22 lakh by the company as per the Workmen Compensation Act.
Salauddin has been raising his voice for the rights of delivery executives, demanding better wages and improved working conditions. He has also been calling on food aggregators to do away with the time limit for delivery, as it puts pressure on delivery boys to complete their deliveries within the deadline, leading to accidents and violations of traffic rules.