Man torched Queens restaurant that messed up his order, cops say

Arson suspect arrested and released

A man accused of setting fire to a Bangladeshi restaurant in Queens earlier this month was arrested, charged, and released.

NEW YORK – A man accused of setting fire to a Bangladeshi restaurant in Queens earlier this month apparently told cops that the eatery botched his rice dish.

After a two-week investigation into the Oct. 2 fire at Ittadi Garden and Grill in Jackson Heights, NYPD detectives and FDNY fire marshals arrested Choephel Norbu, 49, on Monday and charged him with third-degree arson, second-degree criminal mischief, and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Norbu reportedly told detectives that he was "very drunk" and was mad that restaurant didn't get his order of chicken biryani right.

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Video from a security camera shows a person standing in front of the restaurant, then dousing the front of the store and the sidewalk with a liquid, and then kneeling down. Seconds later, a fireball engulfs part of the store and sidewalk and even the person, who then runs away, the video shows.

The fireball shattered the restaurant's glass windows and wrecked its air-conditioning unit, causing more than $1,500 in damage.

Norbu was arraigned and released without bail. He is due back in court in December. A spokesperson for the Queens County District Attorney said arson in the third degree does not qualify for bail under state law.

"There were no other grounds on which to request bail as it was the defendant's first arrest and there were no open cases against him," the DA's spokesperson said. "The most that could be sought was the highest level of CJA supervised release, which we requested and secured." Man torches Queens restaurant

The FDNY posted this security camera video showing a person setting fire to the front of Ittadi Garden and Grill in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Oct. 2, 2022.