Srinagar- In an alleged case of discrimination and harassment, a Kashmiri man was denied accommodation by a hotel in New Delhi on the “instructions of Delhi Police”.
Syed, a resident of Srinagar, who works in a multi-national company as an auditor told Kashmir Observer on Wednesday that he booked the room through booking.com on 22 March at around 8am and when he reached the hotel “The Pleasant Inn”, he was denied the room after the receptionist saw his Aadhar card.
His video showing the receptionist denying entry into the hotel has gone viral on social media.
Syed, who wished not to reveal his full name due to fear of reprisal, told Kashmir Observer that he was hurt after being denied accommodation despite advance booking via online hotel booking website OYO.
“When I reached there, the lady receptionist asked me for my Aadhar card to complete the booking formalities, which I did,” he said.
He further added that the receptionist then rang one of the officials of the hotel and asked that a customer from Kashmir has a booking.
“I think he must have told her to deny the room because as soon as he dropped the call, the receptionist told me that we can’t provide a room to a Kashmiri. After I asked for the reason she said the Delhi Police has instructed us to do so,” he said.
Syed, in the video can be seen demanding to know the reasons from the receptionist for the denial of room.
He said, “I am giving you my identity card. Here is my Aadhaar Card. Why are you denying it?” When the female employee said she had orders not to give room to anyone with an ID from Kashmir, he said, “I can give you my passport as well.” As Kashmir’s address was mentioned on the passport, it was denied as well.
The video, which was shot by the Kashmir resident himself, was shared by many on social media.
The man said that he has been living in different states of the country for the last 12 years and has never faced such humiliation.
“I think the hotel owner might have some issues with Kashmiris otherwise there was no advisory from the police,” he said adding that “he got a room in another hotel in the same locality within no time,”
Talking to Kashmir Observer, Public Relations of the Delhi Police (PRO) Suman Nalwa said that they don’t have any information regarding the incident and neither did anyone file a complaint.
“If anyone comes with a complaint, we will look into it,” she said.
Soon after the video went viral on social media, OYO Rooms took cognisance of the matter and removed the hotel from its platform immediately.
Responding to a tweet, OYO Rooms, also known as OYO Hotels & Homes, issued a clarification and wrote: “We are appalled that this happened. We have taken the hotel off our platform immediately.
“Our rooms and our hearts are open for everyone, always. This is not something that we will compromise on, ever. We will definitely check what compelled the hotel to deny check-in. We thank you for bringing this to our notice,” the hotel aggregator said further.
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