Muslim Dosa Seller Warned, His Stall Vandalised in Mathura Over Hindu Name
The dosa seller Irfan was asked why his eatery was named “Shrinath”.
A Muslim dosa seller from Mathura was reportedly asked by local residents to remove his stall from the Vikas Market area in the city.
(Photo: The Quint)
A Muslim dosa seller from Mathura was reportedly asked by local residents to remove his stall from the Vikas Market area in the city.
In an FIR filed by the complainant, Irfan alleged that some people came to his stall on 18 August and asked him why was his eatery was named “Shrinath”. They also vandalised the stall and warned him to remove his establishment from the market.
In a viral video, a group of people are seen asking why Irfan, a Muslim, used a Hindu-sounding name for his stall. But before he could respond, they can be seen taking off the banners while complaining, “Hindu brothers must be coming to eat at the stall not knowing it belongs to a Muslim.”
One person from the group is also heard threatening Irfan, saying, “It is because of you (Muslims) that Hindus are unemployed.”
Shrinath Dosa Corner is owned by a local resident by the name of Rahul Thakur who pays Irfan Rs 400 daily to run it.
A report on The Indian Express quoted Irfan as saying, “We are running this for the last five years; there has been no problem on the name. We did not even imagine there could be an issue. That day, some people came and tore the banners and said that Muslim people cannot run a shop with a Hindu name. They seemed to have an issue with the name.”
A report on News18 also said that Devraj Pandit, the man who was leading the mob posted a video on Facebook subsequently, accusing the vendor of “economic jihad”, claiming that Hindus don’t get employed because of people like him.
Despite the video going viral on social media, the police only released a statement ten days later, on 27 August.
"Objectionable words were used by some unknown persons regarding its naming at the shop named Shrinath Dosa Corner located in Vikas Market. On the receipt of this information, the police informed about the unknown persons from the owner of the concerned shop and the people working there. Inquiries are being done by them, as soon as their information is received, further action will be taken," Mathura police said.
(With inputs from Hindi Quint, The Indian Express, News 18)
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