Biryani shop staff abused for opening on ‘Hindu festival’

Owner says both the people around and the police stood by them

Staff at a biryani shop in north Delhi’s Burari were abused and threatened by a man on Diwali for opening the shop on a “Hindu festival” on Thursday. The police have registered a case into the matter and begun a probe.

The biryani shop owner, who identified himself as Magroob Ali, said that he was away at the time of the incident but his three staffers were present at the shop in Sant Nagar market. Mr. Ali said that around 7.30 p.m., his staff were sitting at the shop when a visibly drunk man arrived and started abusing them for keeping the shop open on Diwali as it’s a Hindu festival. The man was also heard asking Hindus how they could allow the opening of the shop. He told them to “wake up”. The man insisted that the shop should be “shut immediately because they can’t open a shop serving non-vegetarian food on a Hindu festival in a Hindu-dominated area”.

In a video, the man was is heard making derogatory statements about Muslims and abusing the minority community. One of the staff, apparently overwhelmed, said that they were about to shut the shop.