New Delhi: Amidst the hullabaloo over force-feeding of a Muslim catering supervisor at the Maharashtra Sadan to break his Ramadan fast, the victim has spoken out about the incident.
Caterer Arshad Zubair, who was attacked by the MPs, said in a complaint, forwarded to Maharashtra Sadan Resident Commissioner Bipin Mallick, that “all the guests along with media reporters and staff of Maharashtra Sadan got into the kitchen where I was getting the orders prepared. They caught me and put the chappati into my mouth. I was wearing a formal uniform set as prescribed by IRCTC and everybody in the panel also knew my name as ‘Arshad’ as I was wearing the name tag. Even then they inserted a chappati in my mouth which caused my fast to break on the eve of Ramadan. I was deeply hurt as religious sentiments are concerned.”
Shiv Sena leaders on Wednesday defended their act.
Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut, who was one of the 11 named in the incident, said whatever happened was part of an agitation and the MPs were not aware of the caterer’s religion.
The incident prompted Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to immediately suspend its catering service in the Sadan in protest and submit a complaint in writing to the Maharashtra Resident Commissioner, saying the employee had been “deeply pained and hurt, as religious sentiments are attached”.
IRCTC on Wednesday received a note of apology from Resident Commissioner Mallik who, as the representative of the state government in Delhi, has administrative control of Maharashtra Sadan.
