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Bengaluru lodge denies room to interfaith couple

It was never about religion, but fears over why they only wanted a room for half-an-hour.

Bengaluru: In a bizarre incident, an interfaith couple from Calicut who had arrived in the city over some work on Tuesday were denied a room by a hotel staffer saying it was against the hotel's policy to give rooms to a couple who pursued different faiths.

The incident was reported at the Olive Residency on Annipura Main Road in Sudhama Nagar where the receptionist at the hotel refused to give Shafeek Subaida Hakkim and his wife Divya AV a room when he saw their identity cards and realised they were from different religions.

"It's against the hotel's policy to give a room to an interfaith couple. We have clear instructions to not give room to suspicious couples and when I found out that the man is Muslim and the woman is Hindu, I grew suspicious as Hindus and Muslims generally do not intermarry. I thought they would create trouble," the receptionist told Deccan Chronicle, justifying his decision while speaking.

The receptionist maintained that he grew even more suspicious when the couple requested a room for just half-an-hour and he noticed that they had very little luggage with them. "We have never denied rooms to Muslims and I can show you the register to prove that. It was never about religion, but fears over why they only wanted a room for half-an-hour. There are incidents of couple committing suicide at hotels and I feared this may turn out to be one such case," he said.

Though no complaint has been lodged in this regard, the incident went viral, sparking debate on ingrained religious prejudice.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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