A prominent restaurant in Connaught Place here allegedly denied entry to underprivileged children who were taken there by a woman, prompting the Delhi government to order an inquiry.
Sonali Shetty, a writer from Dehradun, had taken eight street children to the Shiv Sagar restaurant at Janpath for lunch to celebrate her husband’s birthday on Saturday.
Both Ms. Shetty and the restaurant owner have filed complaints of misbehaviour. Ms. Shetty alleged that the hotel staff said “shabbily dressed children were not fit to be customers at their restaurant.” In response, the owner of the Shiv Sagar franchise, Vidur Kanodia, said Ms. Shetty demanded that food be served free of cost. She refuted the allegation.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police-I (New Delhi) Romil Baaniya said on Sunday that both sides had submitted complaints. “We are going through the contents and criminal cases are made out in both. The woman has accused the staff of misbehaving with her and the children, while the hotel owners have said that she harassed them and troubled other customers. We will take appropriate action soon,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia ordered an enquiry. The hotel’s action was typical of a colonial mindset and could not be tolerated, he tweeted. The District Magistrate of New Delhi had been asked to enquire and report to him within 24 hours. He warned that the restaurant would lose its licence if the allegation was found to be true.
Describing the incident as a “failure” of the society, Ms. Shetty said she protested outside the eatery for over 10 hours till around midnight, but nothing happened. She vowed to fight till the children were tendered an apology by the restaurant.
Ms. Shetty also alleged that the policemen who came to the restaurant on her call did not help her and instead “reprimanded” her and asked her to take the children somewhere else.
Stages sit-in Ms. Shetty returned to Janpath on Sunday afternoon with nearly two dozen children and held a sit-in outside the restaurant. She then proceeded to treat the children at the neighbouring McDonalds outlet.
(With inputs from PTI)
