Tata Group Chairman and billionaire businessman, Ratan Tata, is facing the heat on social media after staff at Taj Vivanta in Assam were accused of ill-treating and racially profiling three Muslims guests including one from the army.
According to reports, three Muslim men from Barak Valley in southern Assam had checked in to Taj Vivanta in Guwahati after they missed their Delhi-bound flight. The three guests in question are Imran Hussain Laskar, Sahab Uddin and Zahid Islam Barbhuiyan. Laskar in particular is a non-commissioned officer in the Army Medical Corps.
A report by The Hindu said that they booked their room in Taj Vivanta on Friday and paid Rs 2,000 for the extra bed. They reported paid for the room upfront including the extra Rs 2,000 for the additional bed. The trio said that they went out and returned at 4 pm only to find a huge presence of security personnel at the hotel.
They said that the security men had been monitoring their movements even when they checked in to the hotel. They alleged that the hotel staff to misbehaved with them. The hotel’s CEO allegedly threatened to send them to prison after they tried to speak to journalists, who were there for a VIP event at the hotel, reported News18.
Laskar was quoted as saying, “Is this right; what they have done to me? Is this how they treat a soldier?”
Barbhuiyan said that when they tried to record the goings on with his mobile, the security personnel snatched his phone. “They checked his (Laskar’s) mobile and found an old video of (AIMIM MP) Asaduddin Owaisi and surmised he was a radical. They confiscated Laskar’s identity card, detained him and sent us to our room,” he said.
Reacting angrily to the report, Owaisi tweeted, “ntelligence Bureau officers treated three Indian citizens as extremists because one of their phones had a video of my speech. It’s always heartening to know that the safety and security of our people is in the hands of such competent officers. @rajnathsingh should be proud.”
Intelligence Bureau officers treated three Indian citizens as extremists because one of their phones had a video of my speech. It’s always heartening to know that the safety and security of our people is in the hands of such competent officers. @rajnathsingh should be proud pic.twitter.com/VzSxp719vo
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 15, 2018
Meanwhile journalists and social media users have been tagging Ratan Tata on Twitter urging him to intervene as the allegations by three Muslim men were grave. Journalist Rifat Jawaid wrote, “Taj hotel racially profiling and harassing Muslim guests in Assam because one of them had a video speech of an elected MP @asadowaisi. This is beyond shocking @RNTata2000. You must take serious note of it. Is it a part of new policy of Tata group?”
Taj hotel racially profiling and harassing Muslim guests in Assam because one of them had a video speech of an elected MP @asadowaisi. This is beyond shocking @RNTata2000. You must take serious note of it. Is it a part of new policy of Tata group?
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) October 15, 2018
One user wrote, “Ratan Tata sir it’s your esteemed organisation n we can’t expect such act from your organisation. Will you please come forward to assure us what happened will not be repeated.” Another user asked, “Whats wrong with #tajhotel?
U may disagree with owaisi but FYI he is an MP. How can u discriminate if someone just watching oswaisi’s video?” Another user, Sajid, wrote, “Muslims should avoid visiting such hellish Hotels and I believe anyone who really cares about humanity and believe in secularism should boycott Taj Group Hotels untill those mentally retards working in Vivanta by Taj -Guwahati are Kicked out.”
