A controversy erupted on Tuesday after a fringe right-wing group filed a formal complaint alleging that beef is being served at Chinese and Korean restaurants in Gurugram.

The outfit filed a complaint with the Gurugram police commissioner as well as Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, warning of demonstration if the authorities concerned fail to take appropriate action against such restaurants.

Social activist Kulbhushan Bhardwaj said that the matter came to the fore after a food blogger advertised beef served in Chinese and Korean restaurants at the South Point Mall in Sector 53 on his Instagram account. The blogger has two lakh subscribers.

"We filed a complaint with sufficient proof that beef is being served at these Chinese and Korean restaurants at South Point Mall, which has been submitted to the police. Cow slaughter is banned in Haryana and so is serving beef. The restaurants are not just serving it, but also in connivance with food bloggers promoting it through social media platforms. This will not be tolerated anymore," Bhardwaj, the complainant, said.

"We demand necessary action against these restaurants and the bloggers and a complete ban on serving any dish involving beef," he added.

"We have received a complaint that beef is being served in Chinese and Korean restaurants. A police team will soon reach the spot for further investigation. Whether beef is being served or not will be clear after a detailed probe," said Rajender Kumar, SHO of Sector-53 police station.

The restaurants, meanwhile denied the allegations.

"We don't serve any kind of beef at our restaurant," Kim, manager at the Bibimbab Down Premium Korean Restaurant. (IANS/SR)