I/II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Intolerant-society-Marathi-man-denied-flat-in-veg-only-tower-in-Mumbai/articleshow/47476428.cms
Intolerant society: Marathi man denied flat in 'veg-only' tower in Mumbai Nitasha Natu & Anahita Mukherji,TNN | May 30, 2015, 12.49 AM IST Vaibhav Rahate tried to book a flat in an upcoming high-rise at Malad West earlier this month and was reportedly told the apartments were not for sale to "Maharashtrians, Muslims and other non-vegetarian buyers". (Representative TOI photo by Hemant Shirodkar) MUMBAI: Flat buyers and tenants in the city have long known to be discriminated against on the basis of their food preferences and non-vegetarians discreetly kept out of several housing societies, even areas. But a 27-year-old businessman was taken aback to learn he couldn't buy a flat as he was a 'Maharashtrian'. Vaibhav Rahate tried to book a flat in an upcoming high-rise at Malad West earlier this month and was reportedly told the apartments were not for sale to "Maharashtrians, Muslims and other non-vegetarian buyers". READ ALSO: Muslim woman denied flat in Mumbai He immediately approached the Malad police who recorded his statement but failed to take any action for 25 days. On Friday, after Rahate along with city Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, demonstrated outside the police station, zonal DCP Vikram Deshmane instructed the Malad cops to conduct an inquiry and file an FIR. The Shrinathji Group of developers, which is constructing the high-rise, denied any discrimination. "We were not comfortable dealing with Rahate due to his approach. The manner in which he spoke made our staff sceptical. We need to develop a rapport with our clients during a transaction. We have already sold a flats in the project to a Sindhi buyer and a shop to a Punjabi buyer. Besides, one of the directors of our company is Maharashtrian," said Sagar Bekal, a spokesperson for the Shrinathji group. READ ALSO: Mumbai diamond export firm refuses Muslim MBA job Rahate, a dealer in used cars, lives in Goregaon and wanted to book a 1-BHK for his sister. On May 4, he went to the under-construction Celestial Heights on SV Road. "I was directed to the site office where I met a staffer named Varun. He asked my name and asked me to wait outside for a few minutes. Half an hour later, he met me again. I asked him about the property rates and area, as well as a brochure. But Varun flatly told me the flats were not available for sale to Maharashtrians, Muslims and other non-vegetarian buyers. He said the developers preferred only Gujarati and Marwari buyers. I was aghast and asked if we were supposed to change our dietary habits if we wanted to buy a flat," Rahate told TOI. He went straight to Malad police station, where his statement was recorded. A constable was sent with him back to the construction site. This time around Rahate made a video clip of his conversation with Varun in the presence of the cop. "Varun came with us to the police station and I made another video clip of him apologizing. Later, Varun's superiors met the station in-charge. Once they left, the cops' attitude changed and they wouldn't entertain me for weeks. I had no option but to approach political parties. After other parties failed to help, I met Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh," said Rahate. Senior inspector Milind Khetle of Malad police told TOI that Rahate had not submitted the video recordings to them earlier. "Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city. People from every corner of our country used to come here and live together. This is what makes Mumbai a great place. However, a new trend has emerged with builders and business houses discriminating against people of a particular community or on the basis of their being vegetarian. This will destroy the very culture of Mumbai. Police must take a proactive role to curb this. While countries like UK have strong anti-racism laws, India too should have a law against discrimination," Nirupam said. II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Intolerant-society-Misbah-complains-to-Maria-as-broker-builder-deny-harassing-her/articleshow/47476966.cms Intolerant society: Misbah complains to Maria as broker, builder deny harassing her TNN | May 30, 2015, 03.03 AM IST MUMBAI: Young media professional Misbah Quadri, who has said she was virtually forced out of a rented flat as she is Muslim, on Friday wrote to police commissioner Rakesh Maria complaining about the discrimination she faced in Sanghvi Heights in Wadala (East). She also forwarded the complaint to the National Commission for Women. The move came as the builder, housing society and broker she had blamed for her harassment boosted efforts to disprove her allegations. Developer Shailesh Sanghvi has denied that his company discriminates against Muslims and pointed at the fact that other Muslims are living in the building. Quadri insisted that when she had met a representative of the builder, Rajesh, during the conflict, she was told the society did not want Muslims in it. The Muslims living there were politically well-connected. Rajesh Nasnolkar, who works for the Sanghvi group of companies, has denied saying it. The broker, identified as Bansal, has now publicized a police complaint he had filed against Quadri on April 16, accusing her of illegally occupying the flat without a leave and license agreement, a no objection certificate from the builder and police intimation. He claims these procedures had been followed for the other girls living in the flat, but Quadri had refused to do so. Quadri said she had no knowledge of the police complaint and learnt of it through the media. She contended that she and her flatmates had tried hard to contact the broker before she moved in but he was unavailable. He called just hours before she was moving in, informing her that Muslims weren't allowed in the flat. He asked her to sign a no objection certificate, saying the broker, builder and housing society cannot be held responsible if she is harassed in the society. Quadri says she refused to sign such an undertaking and moved in as her flatmates supported her. The broker claims she had moved in without the owner's permission and should be charged with trespassing. In her complaint to the police commissioner, Quadri said she met the two girls with whom she was to share the Wadala flat via a Facebook page of a housing portal. She has accused the broker of attempting to prevent her from moving in on grounds that she was Muslim. When she moved in, she says the broker hounded her and threatened to throw her belongings out of the house. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
