Delhi Police had briefly detained an eatery owner following a complaint that he had sold biryani on disposable plates purportedly having a picture of Lord Ram on them in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri, officials said on Tuesday.

During investigations, it was found that the shopkeeper had bought 1000 plates from a factory and only four of them had a picture of Lord Ram printed on them, a police officer said.

"He told us that he was not aware about the Lord Ram's pic on the plates, which was also verified by the factory owners," the officer said.

The matter came to the fore when the Delhi Police received a call from Jahangirpuri about the selling of biryani on plates with a picture of Lord Ram on Saturday afternoon.

"When a team reached the spot, a few persons were found protesting outside the shop. They were pacified after the assurance of a proper investigation into the matter," a police officer said.

The shopkeeper was detained was detained under IPC sections 107/151 (preventive detention) and later allowed to go, he said adding the plates were also seized.

The officer said no case has been registered as yet and the matter is being investigated.

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