Police in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, 1 August, sought a written undertaking from Zomato customer Amit Shukla that he would not spread religious hatred, PTI reported. Shukla is a resident of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
Shukla had tweeted on Wednesday that he cancelled his food order on Zomato because the delivery man was not a Hindu. His tweet and the company’s response that “food has no religion” went viral.
According to The Indian Express, Amit Shukla is required to sign a bond giving an assurance that he won't engage in any activity that would cause a breach of peace. Once signed, he will also be kept under police surveillance for the next six months. A violation of the bond would allow the police to take him into custody.
Man Violated Constitutional Provisions, Say Cops
“We have issued a notice, it will be served to Amit Shukla. He'll be warned, if he tweets anything which is against ideals of Constitution, action will be taken. He is on surveillance,” SP Jabalpur, Amit Singh said, according to ANI.
“We took suo motu (on their own) action against Shukla,” Singh told PTI.
Shukla violated constitutional provisions where there is no place for any kind of untouchability and acts disturbing religious harmony, the SP said.
The notice was issued under section 107 (security for keeping peace) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), he said.
‘Food Doesn't Have Religion’
Zomato had refused to resolve a customer's complaint about being assigned a Muslim delivery executive for his food order.
"Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion," the company tweeted in response to the customer's request for change of the rider.
Shukla, on Twitter, posted about cancelling his order placed on Zomato as the designated rider was a "non-Hindu".
"Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel," he said in a tweet that has now been removed.
His account has been deleted now.
In a series of tweets, he also shared screenshots of his conversation with Zomato's customer care, saying he would take up the issue with his lawyers.
However, the company stood its ground and refused to change the delivery executive.
Shukla claimed that he was uninstalling the app as the company was not cooperating and he would discuss the matter with his lawyers, PTI reported.
Zomato Founder Echoes Company’s Stand
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal echoed his company's stand with a firm message. "We are proud of the idea of India - and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren't sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values," he tweeted.
Zomato's response won it many admirers.
Goyal had, in an internal message to his team at Zomato, applauded the customer team for “upholding our values and not discriminate on basis of caste or religion for sake of growth (or customer satisfaction)“.
Sources said he told his team that they should not succumb to any demands of a customer, partner, or even an employee on racial grounds or grounds of any form of diversity, according to PTI.
I Am Hurt, Says Zomato Delivery Executive Over Customer Stand
"I am hurt, but what can I do ... we are poor people," said the Muslim delivery executive.
Narrating the sequence of events, Faiyaz said, “I called the person who had placed the order to know the location of his house. But he said he had cancelled the order.”
Asked about the customer's refusal to take delivery from him, the Zomato executive admitted he is feeling hurt over whatever happened, PTI reported.
"Haan hurt to hue hai. Ab kya bolenge sir, ab log jaisa bolenge..sahi hai is par kya kar sakte hai gareeb log hai...sahna padega sir (Yes I feel hurt. What can I say sir, whatever people say...it’s okay, what I can do... we are poor, we have to suffer)," he said.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)