New Delhi: The Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) has issued a notice to online hotel aggregator OYO Rooms after reports surfaced that a man from Kashmir was denied a room in a Jasola Vihar property. The DMC called the incident a “serious offence of discrimination against a lawful customer”.
“DMC has ordered OYO to reply by 4 September on why this discrimination was allowed to happen; what action has been taken against the offender and what compensation has been/is proposed to be paid to the victim of discrimination at the hands of a hotel affiliated to OYO,” the commission said in an official statement.
The DMC, a department within the Delhi government, also stated that further legal action would be taken, including imposition of an appropriate fine, in case of an unsatisfactory reply by the company.
The incident
On Saturday night, the manager of an OYO flagship in Jasola Vihar allegedly refused to provide a room to a doctor after finding out that he was from Jammu and Kashmir. Malik Aabid, a student from Jamia Milia Islamia and a friend of the victim, posted about the incident on Facebook.
According to Aabid, the manager said he was told not to provide rooms to people from J&K. “It’s an order from the centre,” he was quoted as saying.
After the post went viral, OYO Rooms issued an official statement condemning what had happened. “We do not tolerate any form of discrimination across all our properties and take immediate strict action, which can also lead to the termination of the contract with asset owners. Any such action that is tantamount to discrimination is a serious violation of the basic principles of OYO’s work policies,” the statement read.
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DMC demands action
Speaking to ThePrint, Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, said they needed to know if tangible action was taken by OYO Rooms.
“We want to know what OYO did after they learnt of this incident. What punishment has been meted out to the individual who denied a room to the Kashmiri? Has any compensation been given to the aggrieved individual?” Khan asked.
“OYO should issue clear instructions to their staff that no religious discrimination will be tolerated,” he added.
An official familiar with the issue, who did not wish to be named, said, “OYO has given a strict warning to the manager of the hotel for this unilateral action based on a baseless message.”
The official added that all managers have been instructed to verify the authenticity of such messages before taking any action.
It was reported that the manager denied the Kashmiri person’s booking citing a “few WhatsApp messages which were apparently from the government”.
However, with regards to the notice issued by the DMC, the official said, “We do not have information of any receipt of the notice, we are checking internally with our team.”
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