A muslim biryani shop owner in Delhi’s Sant Nagar area was forced to shut down the shop on Diwali evening after a person claiming to be Naresh Kumar Suryavanshi, a member of Right wing hindu organization Rashtriya Bajrang Dal threatened him by saying that it was a “Hindu area.”
In a video that has gone viral over Twitter, a man can be heard hurling vile abuses at the staff of this biryani shop. The man can be seen harassing them into shutting down the shop. And while they shut the shop, they are also threatened with fire; “It will catch fire…” the man warns.
In the almost three-minute long video, the man first refers to the shop hy saying “is this a Muslim area? Look at them sitting there.”
ये उत्तर प्रदेश के किसी गाँव की नहीं बल्कि देश की राजधानी दिल्ली के संत नगर की वीडियो है. एक आतंकवादी, एक मुस्लिम दुकानदार को दीवाली पर दुकान खोलने के कारण माँ- बहनों की भद्दी गालियाँ दे रहा है और धमका रहा है. इन हिंदू जौंबियों पर कब लगाम लगेगी? @CPDelhi @DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/ekmlHzJ9Dk
— Shyam Meera Singh (@ShyamMeeraSingh) November 5, 2021
He approaches the biryani sellers, sitting quietly inside and waiting for customers, and starts shouting and abusing them, declaring that this is a “Hindu area” and demanding they close down.
“Hey… how have you opened your shop? Who gave you permission? Don’t you know this is a Hindu area? Today is Diwali… close it down now. What is this… you think this is ‘your’ area… is this Jama Masjid? This is a fully ‘Hindu’ area,” the goon shouts.
The restaurant staff appear shocked, scared, and unable to respond to the stream of abuse. One of them manages to say something, they try and defuse the situation by wishing their attacker for Diwali, but he brushes it off and asks: “Aren’t you afraid?”
By this time the staff begins moving chairs, tables and utensils inside the store and are preparing to shut it down, while the man shouts at them saying “this is a Hindu area”.
The Bajrang Dal goon then, also turns to the gathered crowd and addresses them: “Wake up… these people are all doing ‘love jihad’ here with our sisters… to trap them.”
As per an NDTV report, the Delhi Police has begun an inquiry after the video was widely shared on social media, but the accused has still not been identified or arrested. A case under IPC Section 295A (‘deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs’) has been filed.
“No PCR call or complaint has been received at the Burari Police Station as of now… however, facts are being verified and legal action will be taken as per the law,” DCP (North), Sagar Singh Kalsi, said.
The Indian Express reported that Magroob Ali, who manages the biryani shop said that he shut down his shop even though the others there supported them.
“We do not know why he targeted us but we think he just wanted to instigate people and instil fear,” Ali said, as per The Indian Express.
Reportedly, Magroob Ali and his elder brother Aijaj Ali, who joined him in running the shop, are from Rampur district, Uttar Pradesh. They said that their parents have been worried since they found out about the incident.
Meanwhile, The Quint reported that this was the first time the muslim shopkeepers were troubled since they opened the shop. “We have not faced any trouble since I opened the shop here in 2014, and have opened it on all festivals,” Aijaj Ali told The Quint.
“This was the first time something like this happened. Everyone is scared but a few Hindu neighbours and shopkeepers intervened and made the person who was intimidating my brother and employees go away,” The Quint quoted Ali as saying.
The shopkeeper said that the police had asked him to give a written complaint but he refused to do so, because they did not want any trouble.
“He [the police officer] reassured us that we are safe, and that if there’s any trouble, we should get in touch with him,” Magroob Ali was quoted by The Quint as saying. “If this happens again, we will go to the police but as of now, I don’t want any more trouble.”