Hyderabad store denies entry to 2 from northeast, booked

HYDERABAD: In yet another case of discrimination against people from the northeast (NE) amid the coronavirus outbreak, two youngsters from Manipur were denied entry into Star Supermarket in Hyderabad. Despite the duo showing their Aadhaar cards to prove their identity as Indians, the security staff did not let them in.
While the two men were denied entry on Wednesday, a video of the incident went viral on Thursday, sparking national outrage and Union minister Kiren Rijiju seeking details of the incident. Rachakonda police has booked a case against the store manager and two security guards of the store at Vanasthalipuram and taken them into custody. The Telangana government, on its part, assured people from the northeast that immediate action had been taken and that they need not worry The youngsters — Angam Weapon (24) and Thankai Haokip (22) — are civil engineering students of St Mary’s Group of Institutions. While Agmam has been residing in Hyderabad for the last five years, his friend came to the city four years ago.
The video shot by the duo shows them questioning the watchman after they were denied entry. “What is with the racism? Is Manipur not a part of India?” Weapon is heard asking.
Guard turned down all requests
At that moment, a guard asks them to display their ID cards and says, “You are not allowed to enter the store. Are you not aware of the situation?” To which, Haokip says, “We are aware. We are also Indians.” Despite repeated requests by the duo, the guard insists that they speak in Telugu and later asks them to stop arguing. “My manager has gone out for lunch. Once he is back, seek his permission to enter the store,” the guard is heard saying.
“What surprises me is that other bystanders did nothing to help them too. This is appalling by any standards. Racism still has a place in our society even in the midst of this pandemic. Sadly, we are fighting two pandemics (#COVID19 & racism),” tweeted Jonah Trichao, friend of the duo, who shared the video on Twitter.
Reacting to the incident, municipal administration and urban development principal secretary Arvind Kumar tweeted, “It’s unfortunate and our apologies! Collector RR district has informed that FIR is registered against the manager of this outlet and that the accused are in custody. Also, request people to come out in support of our brothers and sisters from NE at this point esp.”
Cops said they were probing claims of racism. “The duo was denied entry due to their facial appearance. We have registered an FIR under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 153-A (promoting disharmony), 188 (disobedience to order by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code,” said Vanasthalipuram inspector A Venkataiah.
The Star Bazaar management said in a statement that discrimination against any customer would not be tolerated. “With regard 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,” the statement said. “We can assure you that we are here for all our customers, irrespective of their race, creed and class.”