People from the Northeast India are facing a lot of discrimination ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. They have become victims of shaming and racist attacks.
Recently, a supermarket store in Hyderabad denied entry to two natives of Manipur on the pretext of looking like foreigners.
According to a report by The Quint, the incident happened today, 9th April, at a Star Market outlet in Vanasthalipuram. The two men were apparently turned back despite showing their identity cards and communicating with the guards in Hindi.
A video of the incident was shared by a friend of the two men who were discriminated against, on Twitter.
In the video, it can be seen that the guards were constantly telling the men to move aside and when they tried to convince them in Hindi, they said, “speak in Telugu”.
The video was noticed by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who asked for the details of the incident in a tweet.
Later, local police filed an FIR against the store manager and the guards on duty.
The police has also detained the store manager after the incident went viral.
The store management has also issued a statement despising the incident. It read:
In regards to the recent incident highlighted by one of our customers, we would like to express that discrimination of any kind is totally against our principles. We are dealing with this incident sensitively and also on priority We can assure you that we are here for all our customers, irrespective of their race, creed and class. We say it with all honesty that we will do everything it takes to make sure that our values stand tall, each day. Everyday
At a time when we need to fight this pandemic together, it is important that we avoid hate and discrimination at all costs.