No unwritten rule for hotel guests from Kashmir, says Delhi Police after doctor denied room in OYO

This is not new. Since there are security issues involved, we deny rooms to Kashmiris.
For representational purposes (File Photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (File Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Behind the festering row over the alleged denial of accommodation by online hotel booking firm OYO rooms to a Kashmiri doctor is an “unwritten rule” in force across hotels and guest houses in the Paharganj area, this newspaper has found.

The rule, it turns out, comes into effect around and after Independence Day and Republic Day, every year.

Controversy erupted on August 17 after the doctor, who had arrived in the city on the same day, was allegedly denied accommodation at Pradham Complex, Jasola Vihar, around 10.30pm.

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While, the president of Delhi Hotel Mahasangh denied any such rule was in force in the area, a senior employee at a prominent Paharganj hotel, who asked not to be named, said it’s normal practice to deny accommodation to guests from the Valley around and after Independence Day and Republic Day.

"There’s hardly anything to be surprised about. None of the hotels and guest houses let in guests from that region around I-Day and R-Day."

"This is not new. Since there are security issues involved, we deny rooms to Kashmiris. Due to scrapping of Article 370, the rule was in force even more strictly this time,” the hotel employee told this newspaper.

He said the receptionist at his hotel turns away Kashmiris, saying there’s “no vacant rooms”, even when “there’s plenty” to spare.

Malik Aabid, the doctor’s friend, took to Twitter to vent his feelings. “My friend is here to collect some certificates from the Medical Council of India. I booked his room on OYO flagship and took him to the hotel. The receptionist asked for his ID proof and after a cursory glance at his Aadhaar card, he said ‘no’ to his face.

We felt humiliated,” Aabid, who is pursuing Masters at Jamia Millia Islamia, told this newspaper.

As word of the incident got out on social media, OYO issued an official statement apologizing for the inconvenience caused to the customer and claiming it was an “isolated incident”.

An OYO spokesperson said they have issued a “strict warning” to the manager of the hotel concerned and a “detailed inquiry” has been initiated.

Delhi Police PRO Mandeep Singh Randhawa said, “There’s no truth to the claim that hoteliers are asked not to let in guests around Independence Day and Republic Day. Our only instruction to the hotel owners is that they should send a word of intimation to the Special Branch (Delhi Police) if they give a room to guests from Pakistan.”

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The New Indian Express
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