Hotel owner booked for discriminating against Kashmiri man, denying him room

New Delhi: The phone of Syed Faisal, a 30-year-old from Srinagar, hasn't stopped buzzing since a video of him being denied accommodation at a hotel in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area went viral. He said the incident has left him disturbed.
While the hotel receptionist claimed that the Delhi Police had ordered them to not allow Kashmiris, the Delhi Police denied this and said no such order had been issued, further adding that they had booked the owner of the hotel for discriminating against the man, who works as an auditor at a multi-national firm.
In the video, a woman staffer of the hotel can be seen not allowing him to check-in as he was from Jammu & Kashmir.
"It was really disturbing. How could they do this to me just because I am a native of Jammu and Kashmir? I showed them my passport and my Aadhar card and still they did not allow me in," he said.
"My family is worried whether I am fine or not. Every known person is calling me as they want to know what happened," he said, even as the hotel booking platform OYO reacted to the incident and de-listed the hotel from its platform.
The company said, "Our rooms and our hearts are open for everyone, always. This is not something that we will compromise on, ever. We will definitely check what compelled the hotel to deny check-in." The hotel has not responded to calls and text messages.
The incident took place on March 22 and after the hotel receptionist refused to let Faizal check-in as per his booking, he repeatedly asked her why his ID documents were not being accepted.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Usha Rangnani said a complaint was received at Mahendra Park Police Station stating that some people from Jammu and Kashmir were denied accommodation in a hotel in the area.
A case under section 153-B(1)b (any member of a religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community denied of rights) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and investigation is in progress, the DCP said.
In the video, the reason for refusal to allot a room was cited as directions from police but I would like to clarify again that no such direction has been given by the local police, she added.