BlinkIt Faces Action For Selling Button Knives. They Were Used In 2 Murders

A case has been registered against BlinkIt, the online grocery platform, for selling button knives or button lock knife, a type of folding pocket knife often used in murders. The Delhi Police filed a First Information Report (FIR) after accused persons in two separate murder cases confessed to purchasing their knives through the app.

During an investigation into two separate murders in West Delhi, police found that the knives used in both crimes had been purchased via BlinkIt. The police then posed as customers and purchased the same knife from the platform.

According to the government regulations, only knives with blades measuring up to 7.62 cm in length and 1.72 cm in width can be sold online. Anything larger violates Arms Act and is a criminal offence. The knife delivered to the police measured 8 cm in length and 2.5 cm in width, exceeding legal limits.

Police subsequently raided several Blinkit dark stores across Delhi and seized more than 55 such knives. A case has been registered against the quick-commerce platform for selling such knives, reportedly priced at Rs 699.

BlinkIt was under fire last month over its promise of 10-minute delivery, which has been a subject of public debate, with many saying that it jeopardises the safety of delivery partners.

This came after the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) called for protests on December 25 and December 31, demanding better pay and social security benefits. Among their demands was the dropping of arbitrary time-based delivery targets.

The government in January asked e-commerce platforms like BlinkIt to remove 10-minute delivery claims after Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met representatives of these platforms and told them to prioritise the safety of delivery partners.

According to government sources, the minister met executives of several aggregators, including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit and Zepto, regarding concerns about delivery timelines.

Blinkit revised its tagline from "10,000 plus products delivered in 10 minutes" to "30,000 plus products delivered at your doorstep", according to the sources.